Judgments from other states can be enforced in Texas.
The Gerber Law Firm can enforce and collect in Texas on “foreign judgments”, judgments that have been rendered by courts in other states. Most out-of-state judgments are enforceable in Texas under Article IV, Section 1 of the United States Constitution, the “full faith and credit” clause.
The Gerber Law Firm generally follows the steps below to enforce foreign judgments:
- The Client provides us with a copy of an exemplified judgment that can be obtained from the court clerk in the court that issued the judgment.
- The Gerber Law Firm files an affidavit that shows the names and last known addresses of the judgment creditor and debtor with the Texas Clerk.
- The Texas Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act (UEFJA) provides a streamlined process for taking a judgment from a U.S. federal court or another state’s court and converting it into a Texas judgment. That is, “domesticating” the judgment. According to the UEFJA, once a copy of a properly authenticated foreign judgment is filed with the clerk of any Texas court of competent jurisdiction, it will be treated in the same manner as a judgment of the court in which the foreign judgment is filed.
- The judgment is now domesticated and is treated as an enforceable Texas judgment that can be abstracted and executed upon.
Under the UEFJA, such judgments have the same effect and are subject to the same procedures, defenses, and proceedings for reopening, vacating, staying, enforcing, or satisfying a judgment as a judgment of the court in which it is filed.