West Virginia Foreign Judgment Enrollment

West Virginia Code

Definitions.

In this article "foreign judgment" means any judgment, decree or order of a court of the United States or of any other court which is entitled to full faith and credit in this state. §55-14-1.

Filing and status of foreign judgments.

A copy of any foreign judgment authenticated in accordance with an act of Congress or the statutes of this state may be filed in the office of the clerk of any circuit court of this state. The clerk shall treat the foreign judgment in the same manner as a judgment of any circuit court of this state. A judgment so filed has the same effect and is subject to the same procedures, defenses and proceedings for reopening, vacating or staying as a judgment of a circuit court of this state and may be enforced or satisfied in like manner: Provided, that notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary, a citizen of this state shall be entitled to the same exemption from execution, attachment or seizure and sale as a citizen of the state where the original judgment was entered. A debt collector seeking to enforce a foreign judgment in this state shall ensure that any suggestee execution or other legal process seeking to seize property of a debtor pursuant to a foreign judgment shall clearly state, on the face of the petition or other filing, any property exempt in the state in which the original judgment was entered and it shall specify that the property is exempt from execution, attachment or seizure and sale in this state. Any person seeking to enforce a foreign judgment in this state who violates any provision of this section shall be liable to the person against whom the judgment is sought to be enforced for actual damages and, in addition thereto, shall be liable to such person for a penalty in an amount not more than one thousand dollars. Any person seeking to enforce a foreign judgment in this state who willfully violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or confined in jail not more than one year, or both fined and confined. §55-14-2.

Notice of filing.

(a) At the time of the filing of the foreign judgment, the judgment creditor or his lawyer shall make and file with the clerk of the circuit court an affidavit setting forth the name and last known post-office address of the judgment debtor and the judgment creditor.

(b) Promptly upon the filing of the foreign judgment and the affidavit, the clerk shall mail notice of the filing of the foreign judgment to the judgment debtor at the address given and shall make a note of the mailing in the docket. The notice shall include the name and post-office address of the judgment creditor and the judgment creditor's lawyer, if any, in this state. In addition, the judgment creditor may mail a notice of the filing of the judgment to the judgment debtor and may file proof of mailing with the clerk. Lack of mailing notice of filing by the clerk shall not affect the enforcement proceedings if proof of mailing by the judgment creditor has been filed.

(c) No execution or other process for enforcement of a foreign judgment filed hereunder may issue until thirty days after the date the judgment is filed. §55-14-3.

Stay.

(a) If the judgment debtor shows the circuit court that an appeal from the foreign judgment is pending or will be taken, or that a stay of execution has been granted, the court shall stay enforcement of the foreign judgment until the appeal is concluded, the time for appeal expires or the stay of execution expires or is vacated, upon proof that the judgment debtor has furnished the security for the satisfaction of the judgment required by the state in which it was rendered.

(b) If the judgment debtor shows the circuit court any ground upon which enforcement of a judgment of any court of this state would be stayed, the court shall stay enforcement of the foreign judgment for an appropriate period, upon requiring the same security for satisfaction of the judgment which is required in this state. §55-14-4.

Fees.

Fees for filing, docketing, transcription or other enforcement proceedings shall be as provided for in section eleven, article one, chapter fifty-nine of this code. §55-14-5.

Optional procedure.

The right of a judgment creditor to bring an action to enforce his judgment instead of proceeding under this article remains unimpaired. §55-14-6.

Uniformity of interpretation.

This article shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it. §55-14-7.

Short title.

This article may be cited as the "Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act." §55-14-8.