The last time Minnesota passed an update to the Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act was 1985.
The act establishes clear and uniform standards under which state courts will enforce foreign-country money judgments that come within its scope.
Based on recommendations from the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, a new law, signed April 22 by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, will provide five primary changes from current law:
clarify the relationship between the act and the Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act because getting recognition for jurisdiction under the law is a different procedure from collecting on a judgment that has already been ordered in a foreign court;
expressly provide that a party seeking recognition of a foreign judgment has a burden to prove that the judgment is subject to the act;
impose the burden of proof for establishing the specific ground of non-recognition upon the party raising it;
address the specific procedure for seeking enforcement; and
a statute of limitations is provided to recognize a foreign-country judgment.
Rep. John Lesch (DFL-St. Paul), who sponsors the law with Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-St. Louis Park), said the update is a critical step towards updating state laws for the 21st century, which has changed because of the global economy. The law takes effect Aug. 1, 2010.
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SF612/CH263