MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2012 Regular Session
To: Judiciary, Division A
By: Senator(s) Fillingane
AN ACT TO ENACT THE "UNIFORM FOREIGN MONEY-JUDGMENTS RECOGNITION ACT"; TO ENACT THE "UNIFORM FOREIGN-COUNTRY MONEY JUDGMENTS RECOGNITION ACT"; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Sections 11-7-401 through 11-7-409, Mississippi Code of 1972:
UNIFORM FOREIGN MONEY-JUDGMENTS RECOGNITION ACT
11-7-401. Definitions. As used in this act:
(1) "Foreign state" means any governmental unit other than the United States, or any state, district, commonwealth, territory, insular possession thereof, or the Panama Canal Zone, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or the Ryukyu Islands;
(2) "Foreign judgment" means any judgment of a foreign state granting or denying recovery of a sum of money, other than a judgment for taxes, a fine or other penalty, or a judgment for support in matrimonial or family matters.
11-7-402. Applicability. This act applies to any foreign judgment that is final and conclusive and enforceable where rendered even though an appeal therefrom is pending or it is subject to appeal.
11-7-403. Recognition and enforcement. Except as provided in Section 11-7-404, a foreign judgment meeting the requirements of Section 11-7-402 is conclusive between the parties to the extent that it grants or denies recovery of a sum of money. The foreign judgment is enforceable in the same manner as the judgment of a sister state which is entitled to full faith and credit.
11-7-404. Grounds for nonrecognition. (a) A foreign judgment is not conclusive if:
(1) The judgment was rendered under a system which does not provide impartial tribunals or procedures compatible with the requirements of due process of law;
(2) The foreign court did not have personal jurisdiction over the defendant; or
(3) The foreign court did not have jurisdiction over the subject matter.
(b) A foreign judgment need not be recognized if:
(1) The defendant in the proceedings in the foreign court did not receive notice of the proceedings in sufficient time to enable him to defend;
(2) The judgment was obtained by fraud;
(3) The [cause of action] [claim for relief] on which the judgment is based is repugnant to the public policy of this state;
(4) The judgment conflicts with another final and conclusive judgment;
(5) The proceeding in the foreign court was contrary to an agreement between the parties under which the dispute in question was to be settled otherwise than by proceedings in that court; or
(6) In the case of jurisdiction based only on personal service, the foreign court was a seriously inconvenient forum for the trial of the action.
11-7-405. Personal jurisdiction. (a) The foreign judgment shall not be refused recognition for lack of personal jurisdiction if:
(1) The defendant was served personally in the foreign state;
(2) The defendant voluntarily appeared in the proceedings, other than for the purpose of protecting property seized or threatened with seizure in the proceedings or of contesting the jurisdiction of the court over him;
(3) The defendant prior to the commencement of the proceedings had agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of the foreign court with respect to the subject matter involved;
(4) The defendant was domiciled in the foreign state when the proceedings were instituted, or, being a body corporate had its principal place of business, was incorporated, or had otherwise acquired corporate status, in the foreign state;
(5) The defendant had a business office in the foreign state and the proceedings in the foreign court involved a [cause of action] [claim for relief] arising out of business done by the defendant through that office in the foreign state; or
(6) The defendant operated a motor vehicle or airplane in the foreign state and the proceedings involved a [cause of action] [claim for relief] arising out of such operation.
(b) The courts of this state may recognize other bases of jurisdiction.
11-7-406. Stay in case of appeal. If the defendant satisfies the court either that an appeal is pending or that he is entitled and intends to appeal from the foreign judgment, the court may stay the proceedings until the appeal has been determined or until the expiration of a period of time sufficient to enable the defendant to prosecute the appeal.
11-7-407. Saving clause. This act does not prevent the recognition of a foreign judgment in situations not covered by this act.
11-7-408. Uniformity of interpretation. This act shall be so construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it.
11-7-409. Short title. This act may be cited as the Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act.
SECTION 2. The following shall be codified as Sections 11-7-501 through 11-7-509, Mississippi Code of 1972:
UNIFORM FOREIGN-COUNTRY MONEY JUDGMENTS RECOGNITION ACT
11-7-501. Short title. This act may be cited as the Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act.
11-7-502. Definitions. In this act:
(1) "Foreign country" means a government other than:
(A) The United States;
(B) A state, district, commonwealth, territory, or insular possession of the United States; or
(C) Any other government with regard to which the decision in this state as to whether to recognize a judgment of that government's courts is initially subject to determination under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution.
(2) "Foreign-country judgment" means a judgment of a court of a foreign country.
11-7-503. Applicability. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), this act applies to a foreign-country judgment to the extent that the judgment:
(1) Grants or denies recovery of a sum of money; and
(2) Under the law of the foreign country where rendered, is final, conclusive, and enforceable.
(b) This act does not apply to a foreign-country judgment, even if the judgment grants or denies recovery of a sum of money, to the extent that the judgment is:
(1) A judgment for taxes;
(2) A fine or other penalty; or
(3) A judgment for divorce, support, or maintenance, or other judgment rendered in connection with domestic relations.
(c) A party seeking recognition of a foreign-country judgment has the burden of establishing that this act applies to the foreign-country judgment.
11-7-504. Standards for recognition of foreign-country judgment. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (b) and (c), a court of this state shall recognize a foreign-country judgment to which this act applies.
(b) A court of this state may not recognize a foreign-country judgment if:
(1) The judgment was rendered under a judicial system that does not provide impartial tribunals or procedures compatible with the requirements of due process of law;
(2) The foreign court did not have personal jurisdiction over the defendant; or
(3) The foreign court did not have jurisdiction over the subject matter.
(c) A court of this state need not recognize a foreign-country judgment if:
(1) The defendant in the proceeding in the foreign court did not receive notice of the proceeding in sufficient time to enable the defendant to defend;
(2) The judgment was obtained by fraud that deprived the losing party of an adequate opportunity to present its case;
(3) The judgment or the [cause of action] [claim for relief] on which the judgment is based is repugnant to the public policy of this state or of the United States;
(4) The judgment conflicts with another final and conclusive judgment;
(5) The proceeding in the foreign court was contrary to an agreement between the parties under which the dispute in question was to be determined otherwise than by proceedings in that foreign court;
(6) In the case of jurisdiction based only on personal service, the foreign court was a seriously inconvenient forum for the trial of the action;
(7) The judgment was rendered in circumstances that raise substantial doubt about the integrity of the rendering court with respect to the judgment; or
(8) The specific proceeding in the foreign court leading to the judgment was not compatible with the requirements of due process of law.
(d) A party resisting recognition of a foreign-country judgment has the burden of establishing that a ground for nonrecognition stated in subsection (b) or (c) exists.
11-7-505. Personal jurisdiction. (a) A foreign-country judgment may not be refused recognition for lack of personal jurisdiction if:
(1) The defendant was served with process personally in the foreign country;
(2) The defendant voluntarily appeared in the proceeding, other than for the purpose of protecting property seized or threatened with seizure in the proceeding or of contesting the jurisdiction of the court over the defendant;
(3) The defendant, before the commencement of the proceeding, had agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of the foreign court with respect to the subject matter involved;
(4) The defendant was domiciled in the foreign country when the proceeding was instituted or was a corporation or other form of business organization that had its principal place of business in, or was organized under the laws of, the foreign country;
(5) The defendant had a business office in the foreign country and the proceeding in the foreign court involved a [cause of action] [claim for relief] arising out of business done by the defendant through that office in the foreign country; or
(6) The defendant operated a motor vehicle or airplane in the foreign country and the proceeding involved a [cause of action] [claim for relief] arising out of that operation.
(b) The list of bases for personal jurisdiction in subsection (a) is not exclusive. The courts of this state may recognize bases of personal jurisdiction other than those listed in subsection (a) as sufficient to support a foreign-country judgment.
11-7-506. Procedure for recognition of foreign-country judgment. (a) If recognition of a foreign-country judgment is sought as an original matter, the issue of recognition shall be raised by filing an action seeking recognition of the foreign-country judgment.
(b) If recognition of a foreign-country judgment is sought in a pending action, the issue of recognition may be raised by counterclaim, cross-claim, or affirmative defense.
11-7-507. Effect of recognition of foreign-country judgment. If the court in a proceeding under Section 11-7-506 finds that the foreign-country judgment is entitled to recognition under this act then, to the extent that the foreign-country judgment grants or denies recovery of a sum of money, the foreign-country judgment is:
(1) Conclusive between the parties to the same extent as the judgment of a sister state entitled to full faith and credit in this state would be conclusive; and
(2) Enforceable in the same manner and to the same extent as a judgment rendered in this state.
11-7-508. Stay of proceeding pending appeal of foreign-country judgment. If a party establishes that an appeal from a foreign-country judgment is pending or will be taken, the court may stay any proceedings with regard to the foreign-country judgment until the appeal is concluded, the time for appeal expires, or the appellant has had sufficient time to prosecute the appeal and has failed to do so.
11-7-509. Statute of limitations. An action to recognize a foreign-country judgment must be commenced within the earlier of the time during which the foreign-country judgment is effective in the foreign country or fifteen (15) years from the date that the foreign-country judgment became effective in the foreign country.
11-7-510. Uniformity of interpretation. In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.
11-7-511. Saving clause. This act does not prevent the recognition under principles of comity or otherwise of a foreign-country judgment not within the scope of this act.
11-7-512. Effective date. This act applies to all actions commenced on or after the effective date of this act in which the issue of recognition of a foreign-country judgment is raised.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2012.