Judgment Domestication and Collection
Our firm puts to use the Full Faith and Credit clause of the United States Constitution and the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act to domesticate judgments that have been obtained in other states. This means that a judgment obtained elsewhere will be considered a valid judgment in Georgia, and we are able to use this state’s creditor-favorable collection laws to collect out-of-state judgments in Georgia.
Our judgment collection practice collects millions of dollars each year for our clients by using garnishment, levy, and other collection mechanisms available to creditors.
Georgia, like almost all of the other states in the country, has adopted the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act (“Act”). As a result, Georgia gives “full faith and credit” to judgments, decrees, or orders rendered by out of state courts which have also adopted the Act. O.C.G.A. § 9-12-131. In other words, a judgment from a “foreign” state can be “domesticated” in Georgia and will be enforceable as if the judgment was rendered by a Georgia court. Similarly, judgments obtained in Georgia will be recognized and enforceable in other states if that state has adopted the Act.
Our judgment collection practice collects millions of dollars each year for our clients by using garnishment, levy, and other collection mechanisms available to creditors.
