Foreign Judgments

"A judgment filed or registered shall be construed to be an original Illinois judgment from the date it is filed with the clerk of the circuit court and for purposes of enforcement and revival, shall be treated in exactly the same manner as an Illinois judgment entered on that same date. (735 ILCS 5/12-652)

If recognition of a foreign-country judgment is sought as an original matter, the issue of recognition shall be raised by filing an action seeking recognition of the foreign-country judgment. (735 ILCS 5/12-666) A foreign-country judgment may not be refused recognition for lack of personal jurisdiction if: (1) the defendant was served with process personally in the foreign country; (2) the defendant voluntarily appeared in the proceeding, other than for the purpose of protecting property seized or threatened with seizure in the proceeding or of contesting the jurisdiction of the court over the defendant; (3) the defendant, before the commencement of the proceeding, had 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 the foreign country and the proceeding in the foreign court involved a cause of action arising out of business done by the defendant through that office in the foreign country; or (6) the defendant operated a motor vehicle or airplane in the foreign country and the proceeding involved a cause of action arising out of that operation. (735 ILCS 5/12-665) A party resisting recognition of a foreign-country judgment has the burden of establishing that a ground for nonrecognition. (735 ILCS 5/12-664) If the court finds that the foreign-country judgment is entitled to recognition then, to the extent that the foreign-country judgment grants or denies recovery of a sum of money, the foreign-country judgment is conclusive between the parties to the same extent as the judgment of a sister state entitled to full faith and credit in the State would be conclusive; and enforceable in the same manner and to the same extent as a judgment rendered in the State. (735 ILCS 5/12-667)"

The Enforcement Act gives effect to the federal Constitution’s Full Faith and Credit Clause and facilitates the enforcement of interstate judgments by providing a summary procedure through which a judgment creditor may seek expeditious enforcement in any jurisdiction where the judgment debtor is found. Doctor’s Assocs., Inc. v. Duree, 745 N.E.2d 1270, 1277 (Ill. App. Ct. 2001)

Defenses. Foreign judgments domesticated under the Enforcement Act may be attacked. However, collateral attacks by a judgment debtor are limited and may be sustained only on grounds that: (1) the rendering court lacked subject matter jurisdiction of the case or personal jurisdiction over the defending party; (2) the foreign judgment was procured by extrinsic fraud; (3) the judgment obligation has been satisfied, released, waived or discharged; (4) the defending party was denied due process of law; or (5) any other ground that would otherwise render the foreign judgment invalid or unenforceable. Doctor’s Assocs., 745 N.E.2d at 1277. As noted above, under the Recognition Act, recognition of a foreign-country judgment can be challenged on the bases that the foreign tribunal did not provide the defendant minimum due process guarantees, have personal jurisdiction over the defendant, or have jurisdiction over the subject matter. 735 ILCS 5/12-664(b). In any of these situations, the Illinois court “may not” (no discretion) recognize the foreign-country judgment. Id. The Recognition Act further provides that an Illinois court “need not” (but may at its discretion) recognize a foreign-country judgment in a number of other situations, including, among others, where the judgment may have been fraudulently procured or is “repugnant” to the public policy of the United States. § 12-664(c). The burden to establish the grounds for non-recognition is on the party resisting recognition of the judgment. § 12-664(d). Statutes of Limitations. A seven-year statute of limitations governs the enforcement under the Enforcement Act of a foreign judgment rendered by a domestic tribunal. 735 ILCS 5/12-108; Revolution Portfolio, LLC v. Beale, 774 N.E.2d 14, 20 (Ill. App. Ct. 2002). A judgment may not be enforced after the expiration of the seven years from the time it is rendered except upon revival of the judgment. 735 ILCS 5/12-108. In Illinois, judgments can be revived up to twenty years after the judgment is rendered. 735 ILCS 5/13-218; Revolution Portfolio, 774 N.E.2d at 20. The Recognition Act, in contrast, contains its own statute of limitations that requires any action to recognize a foreign-country money judgment “must be commenced within the earlier of the time during which the foreign-country judgment is effective in the foreign country or 15 years from the date that the foreign-country judgment became effective in the foreign country.” 735 ILCS 5/12-669. ?