Most U.S. states have enacted a piece of legislation known as the Revised Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act (RUEFJA). With the legislation in force, states can easily recognize judgments issued in other states with a simple procedure known as domestication. Unfortunately, California is one of a minority of states that does not participate in the REUFJA.
If you are trying to domesticate an out-of-state judgment in California, you need to complete the procedure for obtaining a Sister-State judgment. Without it, you cannot legally engage in enforcement efforts in the Golden State.
Normal Domestication Is Simple
Under normal circumstances, the RUEFJA makes domestication simple. Let us say you were pursuing a money judgment from a Utah debtor who packed up and moved to Idaho. You have also learned that the debtor has purchased multiple pieces of property in his new state. To go after those properties, you would have to domesticate your judgment in the county or counties where they are located.
Now, assume all the properties were located in just two counties. You or your attorney would file a copy of the judgment with the court clerks in each of those counties. Once the clerks recorded the judgments, they would be officially domesticated. You could then begin collection efforts. The only condition is that you follow the rules as outlined in Idaho law. Utah rules do not necessarily apply in Idaho.
The Sister-State Judgment
The Utah-Arizona example takes us back to California’s Sister-State judgment. If that same debtor moved to California instead of Idaho, you would be looking at a much more difficult procedure.
1. File With the Court
The first step would be filing an authenticated or exemplified copy of the original judgment in the appropriate county, thereby applying for recognition by a California court. When filing, you would also confirm that:
- the judgment has not expired based on the statute of limitations; and that
- no other enforcement or pending actions exist on the judgment in California or the original state.
The court would require that you provide as much information as possible, including the debtor’s last known address, any pertinent business information, the amount of the judgment, and any applicable interest and fees.
2. The Debtor Is Served
Once you have filed with the court, the debtor must be served a Notice of Entry of Judgment. You must follow the rules of service in California. The debtor would have 30 days to contest or to ask the court to vacate the judgment. In most cases, successfully vacating or contesting is a procedural matter. It is nearly impossible for the debtor to dispute the debt.
If the debt goes uncontested for 30 days, the Sister-State judgment becomes officially enforceable. Now you can begin using any and all collection tools available in California.
Everything but the Trial
Some have described California’s Sister-State judgment process as ‘everything but the trial’. An authentic copy of the original judgment mitigates the need to go back to court, but everything else pretty much remains the same.
Although things can be a bit more difficult in California, it is still possible to collect money judgments from people who abscond there from other states. If you are trying to collect a money judgment and your debtor has headed for California, we might be able to help.
California is one of the eleven states we operate in. We would be happy to look at your case to determine whether we can assist you. It is up to you whether you turn your judgment over to us.