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Executing A Foreign Judgment

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kensek83

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Indiana

I have a judgment against someone in a different state. It was ebay fraud and we had a court date which he never showed up for. I think the court ruled it as no contest in my favor because of this, but I have had a horrible time executing the judgment. I have contacted lawyers in his state as well as the county sheriff. The sheriff could not act until the judgment was executed. I called a lawyer in North Carolina who said he would look over the documents, and he never called me back. This has now been going on for eight years and I would like it resolved. Anyone have any experience with executing foreign judgments? Mine right now is a judgment from Indiana, so North Carolina can't do much I guess. Let me know what you think...
 


dcatz

Senior Member
Mine right now is a judgment from Indiana, so North Carolina can't do much I guess.

Exactly. Use the “search” function at the top of the page for “domesticate judgment”. Until you make your Indiana judgment a North Carolina judgment, you can’t do anything with it.

The sheriff could not act until the judgment was executed.

He couldn’t act until it was domesticated.

Before you go to the time and expense of domestication, be sure that you can find assets and can enforce your new judgment. Eight years is a long time to wait.
 

kensek83

Junior Member
New information about judgment

Okay, so I researched some more information about the guy I have a judgment against and he has moved from North Carolina to New Hampshire. Do I need to get the paperwork to domesticate the judgment in New Hampshire now. I don't have an address or anything. Plus, get this...the guy is running for state representative. I thought about calling the newspaper or the television station in his community but I didn't know if that was a good idea. I found his email and told him that I was hoping to resolve this issue finally without the courts. He has not responded. Any advice about taking this public or what I do with the current judgment?
 

dcatz

Senior Member
Any advice about taking this public or what I do with the current judgment?

My advice would be to retain a creditors’ rights attorney in NH and let him/her collect your judgment. You have 8 years of accrued post-judgment interest to use to pay for the service. Domestication is more than a simple matter of filing a form. There should be enough public information on someone running for public office that a professional could effect recovery – voluntarily or involuntarily. And “taking it public” to embarrass him into paying sounds like a very bad idea that could come back and bite you. Just my opinion. Others may feel differently.
 
dcatz gave you the best advice. Domesticating a judgment can be very technical, and it is easy to trip up. Also, the defenses to domestication are procedural in nature, and relate to the way the original judgment was obtained (e.g., proper service, notice, etc.). You really need some assistance to do this.
 

klcaprio

Junior Member
Foreign Judgment

I do Judgment Recovery for a living and have been domesticating foreign judgments for over 10 years. My advice is contact a Judgment Recovery firm in whatever state your debtor is in and work with them. All you need to do is assign your judgment over to them (this makes it legal for them to recover on your behalf). At that point they will incur all expenses to domesticate the judgment, track down your debtor and his/her assets, seize the assets and get you paid. It will save you time and money. Plus if your debtor moves again, they will track him/her down and go after them in whatever state they are in. Plus they will keep your judgment from going dormant and expiring. If you have waited eight years you better act fast, most states will not honor a judgment if no action has been taken on it after 9 years or so (depends on the state).
 
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