The authority
A filed foreign judgment has the same effect and is subject to the same procedures, defenses, and proceedings for reopening, vacating, staying, enforcing, or satisfying a judgment as a judgment of the court in which it is filed.Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 35.003(c)
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 35.001–35.008; U.S. Const. art. IV, § 1
When it applies
A creditor holding a judgment from another state against a debtor who lives in Texas, has moved here, or owns Texas real property, accounts or receivables. It is the mirror of taking a Texas judgment into another state, and the same authenticated-copy problem comes first.
How it is proved up
- Get an authenticated copy of the judgment from the court that entered it — the form the Texas clerk will accept, not a printout.
- File it with the affidavit of the debtor's and creditor's last known post office addresses, and make sure the clerk's notice of filing goes to the debtor.
- File in the county that suits the collection plan: where the debtor lives, or where the property is.
- Expect the debtor's challenges to arrive as they would against a Texas judgment, and calendar the time after filing during which they can be raised.
- Then abstract the judgment in every county where the debtor owns anything, and move to execution, garnishment or turnover as the assets require.
What defeats it
- A judgment entered without personal jurisdiction over the debtor, which full faith and credit does not protect.
- A judgment under appeal or stayed in the state that entered it, which the Texas court must stay once the debtor shows it has furnished, or will furnish, the security that state requires.
- A copy that is not properly authenticated.
Where I have used it
Judgments brought into Texas for collection against debtors and their real property, receivables and accounts here.
Questions
How do I domesticate a foreign judgment in Texas?
File an authenticated copy of the judgment with a Texas court clerk, with an affidavit stating the last known post office addresses of the judgment debtor and the judgment creditor. The filed judgment then has the same effect as a judgment of the Texas court in which it is filed.
Can a debtor fight a foreign judgment filed in Texas?
Yes, on the same grounds and through the same procedures available against a Texas judgment, most often lack of personal jurisdiction in the original court. If the judgment is on appeal or stayed where it was entered, the Texas court must stay enforcement once the debtor shows it has furnished, or will furnish, the security required there.
Does a federal judgment need to be domesticated in Texas?
A federal judgment from another district is registered in a Texas federal district court under 28 U.S.C. § 1963 rather than filed under the state act.