Daily bulletin [2009 : February 24, v.2009 : no.16]

Daily Bulletin ACTIONS BY THE NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY School of Government The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Legislative Reporting Service, Box 7294 State Legislative Building, Raleigh, NC 27601 Phone 919.733.2484 - Fax 919.715.3464 - www.dbulletin.org House Legislative Day 1 6 Vol. 2009, No. 1 6 Senate Legislative Day 1 6 Tuesday, February 24, 2009 SUMMARIES OF BILLS FILED HOUSE BILLS H 274. REWRITE FOREIGN MONEY JUDGMENTS LAWS. Filed 2/24/09. TO REWRITE THE LAW CONCERNING THE RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN MONEY JUDGMENTS , AS RECOMMENDED BY THE GENERAL STATUTES COMMISSION. Repeals Article 18 of GS Chapter 1C (North Carolina Foreign Money Judgments Recognition Act). Enacts new Article 20 of GS Chapter 1C to create the ‘‘North Carolina Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act,” which requires state courts to recognize foreign-country judgments to the extent the judgment (1) grants or denies recovery of a sum of money and (2) is final, conclusive, and enforceable under the law of the foreign country rendering judgment. Specifies that the article does not apply to a foreign-country judgment for (1) taxes; (2) a fine or other penalty; or (3) alimony, support, or maintenance in matrimonial or family matters. Provides that the party seeking recognition of judgment has the burden of showing applicability of the article. Does not prohibit recognition of judgments not included in this Article under principles of comity or otherwise. Creates definitions for foreign country and foreign-country judgment. Provides for nonrecognition of judgments, and grants discretion to courts to deny recognition, in certain circumstances. Establishes the burdens of each party in seeking recognition and nonrecognition in relation to those circumstances. Prohibits refusal of recognition on the grounds of lack of personal jurisdiction if any of the following exists: (1) the defendant was served with process personally in the foreign country; (2) the defendant voluntarily appeared in the proceeding, other than for protecting from seizure, or possible seizure, property or for contesting jurisdiction; (3) the defendant, before commencement of the proceeding, 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 a foreign country and the proceeding in the foreign court arose from business done by the defendant through that office in the foreign country; (6) the defendant operated a motor vehicle or airplane in the foreign country and the proceeding arose from that operation; and (7) there is any other basis for personal jurisdiction consistent with the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. Provides that this list is not exclusive. Sets forth the procedure for recognition and nonrecognition of a judgment. Provides that if a judgment is recognized under the procedure, then to the extent the foreign country judgment grants or denies the recovery of money, a recognized judgment is (1) conclusive between the parties to the same extent as the judgment of a sister state entitled to full faith and credit and (2) enforceable in the same manner and to the same extent as a judgment rendered in this state. Specifies that Article 17 of GS Chapter 1C (Enforcement of foreign judgments from other states) does not apply to the enforcement of foreign-country judgments recognized in this Article. Allows the court to stay proceedings related to a judgment if an appeal is pending until the appeal is concluded, the time for appeal expires without an appeal being taken, or the appellant has had sufficient time to prosecute the appeal and has failed to do so. Sets a statute of limitations for an action to recognize the judgment at 10 years © 2009 School of Government The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill This work is copyrighted and subject to "fair use" as permitted byfederal copyright law. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the express written permission of the publisher. Distribution by third parties is prohibited. Prohibited distribution includes, but is not limited to, posting, e-mailing, faxing, archiving in a public database, installing on intranets or servers, and redistributing via a computer network or in printed form. Unauthorized use or reproduction may result in legal action against the unauthorized user.