Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2122 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		85R25567 CAE-F
2	2		By: Clardy H.B. No. 2122
3		-	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2122:
4		-	By: Smithee C.S.H.B. No. 2122
5	3
6	4
7	5		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	6		AN ACT
9	7		relating to the adoption of the Uniform Foreign-Country Money
10	8		Judgments Recognition Act.
11	9		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	10		SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 2, Civil Practice and Remedies
13	11		Code, is amended by adding Chapter 36A to read as follows:
14	12		CHAPTER 36A. ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENTS OF OTHER COUNTRIES
15	13		Sec. 36A.001. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as the
16	14		Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act.
17	15		Sec. 36A.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
18	16		(1) "Foreign country" means a government other than:
19	17		(A) the United States;
20	18		(B) a state, district, commonwealth, territory,
21	19		or insular possession of the United States; or
22	20		(C) any other government with respect to which
23	21		the decision in this state as to whether to recognize a judgment of
24	22		that government's court is initially subject to determination under
25	23		Section 1, Article IV, United States Constitution (the full faith
26	24		and credit clause).
27	25		(2) "Foreign-country judgment" means a judgment of a
28	26		court of a foreign country.
29	27		Sec. 36A.003. APPLICABILITY. (a) Except as otherwise
30	28		provided in Subsection (b), this chapter applies to a
31	29		foreign-country judgment to the extent that the judgment:
32	30		(1) grants or denies recovery of a sum of money; and
33	31		(2) under the law of the foreign country in which the
34	32		judgment is rendered, is final, conclusive, and enforceable.
35	33		(b) This chapter does not apply to a foreign-country
36	34		judgment that grants or denies recovery of a sum of money to the
37	35		extent that the judgment is:
38	36		(1) a judgment for taxes;
39	37		(2) a fine or other penalty; or
40	38		(3) a judgment for divorce, support, or maintenance,
41	39		or other judgment rendered in connection with domestic relations.
42	40		(c) A party seeking recognition of a foreign-country
43	41		judgment has the burden of establishing that this chapter applies
44	42		to the foreign-country judgment.
45	43		Sec. 36A.004. STANDARDS FOR RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN-COUNTRY
46	44		JUDGMENT. (a) Except as otherwise provided in Subsections (b) and
47	45		(c), a court of this state shall recognize a foreign-country
48	46		judgment to which this chapter applies.
49	47		(b) A court of this state may not recognize a
50	48		foreign-country judgment if:
51	49		(1) the judgment was rendered under a judicial system
52	50		that does not provide impartial tribunals or procedures compatible
53	51		with the requirements of due process of law;
54	52		(2) the foreign court did not have personal
55	53		jurisdiction over the defendant; or
56	54		(3) the foreign court did not have jurisdiction over
57	55		the subject matter.
58	56		(c) A court of this state is not required to recognize a
59	57		foreign-country judgment if:
60	58		(1) the defendant in the proceeding in the foreign
61	59		court did not receive notice of the proceeding in sufficient time to
62	60		enable the defendant to defend;
63	61		(2) the judgment was obtained by fraud that deprived
64	62		the losing party of an adequate opportunity to present the party's
65	63		case;
66	64		(3) the judgment or the cause of action on which the
67	65		judgment is based is repugnant to the public policy of this state or
68	66		the United States;
69	67		(4) the judgment conflicts with another final and
70	68		conclusive judgment;
71	69		(5) the proceeding in the foreign court was contrary
72	70		to an agreement between the parties under which the dispute in
73	71		question was to be determined otherwise than by proceedings in the
74	72		foreign court;
75	73		(6) jurisdiction was based only on personal service
76	74		and the foreign court was a seriously inconvenient forum for the
77	75		trial of the action;
78	76		(7) the judgment was rendered in circumstances that
79	77		raise substantial doubt about the integrity of the rendering court
80	78		with respect to the judgment; or
81	79		(8) the specific proceeding in the foreign court
82	80		leading to the judgment was not compatible with the requirements of
83	81		due process of law.
84	82		(d) A party resisting recognition of a foreign-country
85	83		judgment has the burden of establishing that a ground for
86	84		nonrecognition stated in Subsection (b) or (c) exists.
87	85		Sec. 36A.005. PERSONAL JURISDICTION. (a) A
88	86		foreign-country judgment may not be refused recognition for lack of
89	87		personal jurisdiction if:
90	88		(1) the defendant was served with process personally
91	89		in the foreign country;
92	90		(2) the defendant voluntarily appeared in the
93	91		proceeding, other than for the purpose of protecting property
94	92		seized or threatened with seizure in the proceeding or of
95	93		contesting the jurisdiction of the court over the defendant;
96	94		(3) the defendant, before commencement of the
97	95		proceeding, agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of the foreign
98	96		court with respect to the subject matter involved;
99	97		(4) the defendant was domiciled in the foreign country
100	98		when the proceeding was instituted or was a corporation or other
101	99		form of business organization whose principal place of business was
102	100		in, or that was organized under the laws of, the foreign country;
103	101		(5) the defendant had a business office in the foreign
104	102		country and the proceeding in the foreign court involved a cause of
105	103		action arising out of business done by the defendant through that
106	104		office in the foreign country; or
107	105		(6) the defendant operated a motor vehicle or airplane
108	106		in the foreign country and the proceeding involved a cause of action
109	107		arising out of that operation.
110	108		(b) The list of bases for personal jurisdiction in
111	109		Subsection (a) is not exclusive. A court of this state may
112	110		recognize bases of personal jurisdiction other than those listed in
113	111		Subsection (a) as sufficient to support a foreign-country judgment.
114	112		Sec. 36A.006. PROCEDURE FOR RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN-COUNTRY
115	113		JUDGMENT. (a) If recognition of a foreign-country judgment is
116	114		sought as an original matter, the issue of recognition may be raised
117	115		by filing an action seeking recognition of the foreign-country
118	116		judgment.
119	117		(b) If recognition of a foreign-country judgment is sought
120	118		in a pending action, the issue of recognition may be raised by
121	119		counterclaim, cross-claim, or affirmative defense.
122	120		Sec. 36A.007. EFFECT OF RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN-COUNTRY
123	121		JUDGMENT. If the court in a proceeding under Section 36A.006 finds
124	122		that the foreign-country judgment is entitled to recognition under
125	123		this chapter, then, to the extent that the foreign-country judgment
126	124		grants or denies recovery of a sum of money, the foreign-country
127	125		judgment is:
128	126		(1) conclusive between the parties to the same extent
129	127		as the judgment of a sister state entitled to full faith and credit
130	128		in this state would be conclusive; and
131	129		(2) enforceable in the same manner and to the same
132	130		extent as a judgment rendered in this state.
133	131		Sec. 36A.008. STAY OF PROCEEDINGS PENDING APPEAL OF
134	132		FOREIGN-COUNTRY JUDGMENT. If a party establishes that an appeal
135	133		from a foreign-country judgment is pending or will be taken, the
136	134		court may stay any proceedings with regard to the foreign-country
137	135		judgment until:
138	136		(1) the appeal is concluded;
139	137		(2) the time for appeal expires; or
140	138		(3) the appellant has had sufficient time to prosecute
141	139		the appeal and has failed to do so.
142	140		Sec. 36A.009. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS. An action to
143	141		recognize a foreign-country judgment must be brought within the
144	142		earlier of:
145	143		(1) the time during which the foreign-country judgment
146	144		is effective in the foreign country; or
147	145		(2) 15 years from the date that the foreign-country
148	146		judgment became effective in the foreign country.
149	147		Sec. 36A.010. UNIFORMITY OF INTERPRETATION. In applying
150	148		and construing this chapter, consideration must be given to the
151	149		need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to the subject
152	150		matter of this chapter among states that enact a law based on the
153	151		uniform act on which this chapter is based.
154	152		Sec. 36A.011. SAVING CLAUSE. This chapter does not prevent
155	153		the recognition under principles of comity or otherwise of a
156	154		foreign-country judgment not within the scope of this chapter.
157	155		SECTION 2. Chapter 36, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
158	156		repealed.
159	157		SECTION 3. Chapter 36A, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
160	158		as added by this Act, applies to all actions commenced on or after
161	159		the effective date of this Act in which the issue of recognition of
162	160		a foreign-country judgment is raised.
163	161		SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
164	162		a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
165	163		provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
166	164		Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
167	165		Act takes effect September 1, 2017.