Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments

Question 1

The state handing down the judgment is called the…?

Answer 1

The rendering state

Question 2

The state called upon to recognize and enforce the judgment is the …?

Answer 2

Recognizing state, also called the forum state.

Question 3

For sister state judgments, what are the requirements for determining whether the judgment is entitled to full faith and credit?

Answer 3

Two requirements:
(1) Judgment must meet the three full faith and credit requirements,

(2) No valid defense apply

Question 4

What are the three full faith and credit requirements?

Answer 4

(1) Valid jurisdiction in the rendering court over
both the parties and the subject matter of the litigation; (2) The judgment must be a final judgment; (3) The judgment must have been rendered on the merits.

Question 5

Under the valid jurisdiction requirement of the full faith and credit test, what is the “one attack” rule?

Answer 5

This rule provides that the validity of jurisdiction can be attacked only once, either in the rendering court or in the recognizing court.

If jurisdiction was fully and fairly litigated in the rendering court that determination is entitled credit by the recognizing court even if it was wrong.

Question 6

How do you determine whether a judgment is final?

Answer 6

If a judgment is modifiable it is not a final judgment and gets no full faith and credit, BUT it will usually still be enforced under principles of comity.

The two modifiable judgments to remember: (1) Future alimony and (2) Future child support.

Question 7

Are judgments for amounts already accrued and in arrears considered final judgments?

Answer 7

Yes. Judgments for amounts already accrued and in arrears are considered final judgments.

Question 8

Are judgments on appeal final judgments?

Answer 8

Judgments on appeal are not final judgments unless the rendering state would allow enforcement of the judgment pending appeal.

Question 9

What are two situations that ARE ON THE MERITS for full faith and credit purposes?

Answer 9

(1) Default judgments, and (2) Consent judgments;

Since the parties in these two situations had the opportunity to go to a judgment on the merits they are so considered here.

Question 10

What is the effect of a default judgment?

Answer 10

With a default judgment all of plaintiff’s assertions are taken as true, and the judgment is thus on the merits to all of plaintiff’s unanswered allegations.

Question 11

Which state’s law is the controlling law on the full faith and credit requirements?

Answer 11

The rendering state law.

Question 12

In terms of whether a law is entitled full faith and credit, what are the available defenses?

Answer 12

Most attempted defenses do not work (the so-called “non-defenses”) but you must talk about them if they appear in the facts.

Only 2 defenses are good today:
1. The judgment is penal: courts will not enforce this kind of judgment. Definition: a judgment rendered for an offense against the public. Examples of penal judgment: criminal sanction or civil fine; the winner must be the government, not a private person or entity.

2. Extrinsic fraud (not intrinsic fraud). Intrinsic fraud is fraud that could have been dealt with during the litigation and it is NOT a good defense to full faith and credit. Extrinsic fraud is fraud that could not have been coped with.

Question 13

What is extrinsic fraud? What is an example of extrinsic fraud?

Answer 13

fraud that could not have been coped with and it IS a good defense to full faith and credit. An example is bribing of a judge.

Question 14

What is intrinsic fraud?

Answer 14

fraud that could have been dealt with during the litigation and it is NOT a good defense to full faith and credit.

Question 15

What are the “non-defenses” to a full faith and credit argument?

Answer 15

The “non-defenses”—won’t work but you must talk about them if they appear in the facts:
(1) The judgment is based on a cause of action that violates forum’s public policy. (2) Mistakes by the Judge in the earlier trial. The remedy for such mistakes is to appeal the incorrect judgment; it is too late to raise this issue at the recognition of judgments stage. (3) Inconsistent judgments. A later judgment can be enforced even though
it is inconsistent with a valid earlier one. SCOTUS Rule: enforce the last judgment in time.

Question 16

Can foreign country judgments be recognized? What is the test? How do you determine whether the foreign country judgment meets the test?

Answer 16

These can be recognized and enforced under principles of fairness, PROVIDED that a two-part comity test is satisfied:

(1) Jurisdiction must have been proper
(fundamental fairness/minimum contacts); and
(2) Fair Procedures must have been used in the foreign country proceeding.

To determine whether the foreign country judgment meets this test use the recognizing state’s law, and this means that state’s ideas of due process: were there enough contacts with the litigation or the parties to make jurisdiction fair.

Question 17

What is required for a valid divorce?

Answer 17

A valid divorce requires proper subject-matter jurisdiction and this requires that one of the two spouses be domiciled in the state rendering the divorce.

Question 18

What are three types of divorce?

Answer 18

(1) The ex-parte divorce, where only one of the spouses is validly domiciled where the divorce is granted.
(2) The bi-lateral divorce, where one of the spouses is validly domiciled where the divorce is granted, and both spouses are subject to personal jurisdiction there.
(3) The consent divorce, where both want out of the marriage and go together somewhere to get it (i.e. the “quickie” divorce).

So for any kind of divorce to be valid there must be a valid domicile of at least one of the parties to give the necessary subject-matter jurisdiction.

Question 19

In a divorce proceeding, who has the burden of proof when attacking a divorce decree?

Answer 19

The attacker bears the burden of proof and can introduce any relevant evidence whatever, even if the evidence came into existence after the divorce was granted.

Question 20

Who can attack a divorce decree for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction?

Answer 20

Any interested person who is not estopped can attack a divorce decree for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. Strangers to the marriage cannot attack it.

Question 21

What are four situations in which P will be estopped from attacking a divorce decree?

Answer 21

(a) Where the attacker was subject to personal jurisdiction in the earlier proceeding, thus the spouse in a bi-lateral divorce cannot latter attack that divorce; (b) Where the attacker may not have been subject to personal jurisdiction in the earlier proceeding, but the attacker played a meaningful role in the granting of the divorce; (c) Person who are in privity with a party to the divorce. This includes children. (d) A spouse who has remarried in reliance on the earlier divorce.

Question 22

What type of jurisdiction must the court granting alimony or child support have?

Answer 22

A court granting alimony or child support must have personal jurisdiction over the spouse whose property rights are in issue.

Valid jurisdiction for determining child custody lies only in the child’s home state.

Question 23

Summarize family law jurisdiction in a nutshell:

Answer 23

For divorce: subject-matter jurisdiction—valid domicile of at least.

For property awards (alimony, child support): personal jurisdiction over the spouse whose rights are being determined.

For child custody: personal jurisdiction over the child—that is, the child’s home state.

Question 24

What is the divisible divorce doctrine?

Answer 24

If a decree has some parts that are good and some that are bad, you keep the good and ignore the rest.

Question 25

Are federal and state courts required to recognize one another’s judgments?

Answer 25

By statute, federal and state courts are required to recognize one another’s judgments.