Domestication Foreign Judgment Enforcement

What Is Domestication of a Foreign Judgment?

If you win a $2 million judgment against a debtor in a New York court, that judgment has no automatic enforcement power in Florida. You cannot use it to lien the debtor's Florida real estate or garnish their Florida bank accounts. You must first "domesticate" the judgment, meaning register it in a Florida court so it has the same legal effect as a judgment originally entered by a Florida judge.

The Process

Florida follows the Uniform Out-of-State Foreign Judgment Recognition Act (Florida Statute 55.501-.509). The process is straightforward:

1. File the Judgment — The judgment creditor files an authenticated copy of the foreign judgment with the Clerk of Court in the Florida county where the debtor's assets are located.
2. Provide Notice — The creditor must send notice to the judgment debtor at their last known address, informing them that the judgment has been filed in Florida.
3. Wait Period — The debtor has 30 days to challenge the domestication (arguing the original court lacked jurisdiction, the judgment was obtained by fraud, etc.).
4. Enforce — Once the 30-day period passes without a successful challenge, the domesticated judgment has the same force and effect as a Florida judgment. The creditor can record it as a lien on the debtor's Florida real estate, garnish wages, levy bank accounts, and pursue foreclosure on the debtor's non-homestead property.

International Judgments

For judgments from foreign countries (not other U.S. states), Florida follows the Florida Foreign Country Money-Judgments Recognition Act (Florida Statute 55.601-.607). International domestication is more complex because the creditor must prove the foreign court had proper jurisdiction and the proceedings met basic fairness standards.

Related Terms

• Comity Doctrine — The legal principle underlying foreign judgment recognition
• Lien — The enforcement tool applied to the debtor's Florida real estate
• Foreclosure — The ultimate enforcement mechanism for domesticated judgments

Barnes Walker Judgment Enforcement

Barnes Walker's litigators domesticate and enforce out-of-state and international judgments against Florida assets, recording judgment liens on the debtor's real estate and aggressively pursuing garnishment and levy proceedings to satisfy our clients' claims. Request a legal inquiry for assistance.

Reviewed by the attorneys at Barnes Walker, Goethe, Shea & Robinson, PLLC