Recognition of Foreign Judgments Flashcards
What are full faith and credit judgments?
If a valid judgment is rendered by a court that has jurisdiction over the parties, and the parties receive proper notice of the action and have a reasonable opportunity to be heard, THEN the judgment will receive the same effect in other states as it receives in the state where it was rendered.
What is required of a judgment to meet the full faith and credit clause?
Judgment must
-> have been brought in the proper jurisdiction
-> be final
AND
-> on the merits
What are defenses to full faith and credit of judgments clause?
Penal judgments (cases in which the judgment is punishment for an offense against the public)
-> do not have to be enforced.
Equitable defenses (e.g. extrinsic fraud)
-> do not have to be enforced
Inconsistent judgements (between the same parties with regard to the same cause of action)
-> courts recognize the last judgment that was rendered
Must federal courts give full faith and credit to state court judgments?
Yes.
When must a state court give full faith and credit to a federal court judgment?
If a federal court with diversity jurisdiction over an action issues a judgment, a state court must give such judgment the same res judicator effect that the judgment would have been given by the courts of the state where the federal court was located.
Under what are judgments from foreign countries recognized?
Comity
-> U.S> courts have discretion to decide whether to recognize foreign country judgments
What foreign judgments are recognized and not recognized under the Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act?
Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act
-> covers foreign judgments that grant or deny specific lump sums of money,
-> BUT excludes judgments for taxes, judgments for alimony or child support, AND penal judgments
When are divorce judgments from other states recognized?
Divorce decrees from other states are entitled to full faith and credit as long as the original state had jurisdiction to issue the decree and the decree is valid in the original state.
When are bilateral divorces valid and entitled to full faith and credit?
If the court has personal jurisdiction over both spouses and at least one spouse is domiciled in the state, THEN the divorce judgment will be valid and will be entitled to full faith and credit.
What is an ex parte divorce?
When is an ex parte divorce entailed to full faith and credit?
What’s the difference between a bilateral divorce and an ex parte divorce?
An ex parte divorce is based on the domicile of only one of the spouses.
Entitled to full faith and credit when the divorce adheres to subject-matter jurisdiction rules and personal jurisdiction must exist over one spouse.
The difference is that in an ex parte divorce, full faith and credit is NOT given to other marital agreements such as property rights, alimony, and child custody,
-> BUT the non-domiciled spouse may agree to such judgments.
When must states give full faith and credit to decisions regarding child custody?
Under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), a court can make initial custody decisions if it is in the child’s home state, and all other states must give full faith and credit to such decisions.
When are property and alimony judgments given full faith and credit in bilateral divorces and ex parte divorces?
Bilateral divorce
-> full faith and credit is generally given to issues related to property and alimony
Ex parte divorce
-> the parties must settle these issues in a court with personal jurisdiction over both parties to get full faith and credit with regards to property and alimony judgments
