Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act

The Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act (“UEFJA”) governs the domestication of foreign judgments in Texas.  Texas has adopted the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, which allows people and companies who have obtained foreign judgments to enforce their judgments in Texas without the necessity of having a separate trial for enforcement in Texas.  The UEFJA sets out a process for taking a judgment from a U.S. federal court or another state’s court and turning it into a Texas judgment. That is, “domesticating” the judgment. The Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code provides that a foreign judgment properly filed in Texas in a court of competent jurisdiction should be treated in the same manner as the judgment would have been treated in the foreign court.

The UEFJA allows a more streamlined method of enforcing foreign judgments as opposed to bringing a separate suit to enforce the judgment. However, enforcement or collection of the judgment under the UEFJA is not guaranteed. In order for a foreign judgment to be enforceable in Texas, it must be entitled to Full Faith and Credit. Essentially, this means that the foreign judgment must be final and must have been obtained in a way that respects the defendant’s Due Process rights. The party who obtained the foreign judgment must have properly served the defendant according to the laws of the foreign court and the defendant must have been subject to the personal jurisdiction of the foreign court; or the foreign judgment may be found to not be entitled to Full Faith and Credit and therefore unenforceable in Texas.

For more information, please contact Texas Turnover Receivers.