55.605 Grounds for nonrecognition. - Florida Statutes

55.605 Grounds for nonrecognition.

   (1) An out-of-country foreign judgment is not conclusive if:

   (a) The judgment was rendered under a system which does not provide impartial tribunals or procedures compatible with the requirements of due process of law.

   (b) The foreign court did not have personal jurisdiction over the defendant.

   (c) The foreign court did not have jurisdiction over the subject matter.

   (2) An out-of-country foreign judgment need not be recognized if:

   (a) The defendant in the proceedings in the foreign court did not receive notice of the proceedings in sufficient time to enable him or her to defend.

   (b) The judgment was obtained by fraud.

   (c) The cause of action or claim for relief on which the judgment is based is repugnant to the public policy of this state.

   (d) The judgment conflicts with another final and conclusive order.

   (e) The proceeding in the foreign court was contrary to an agreement between the parties under which the dispute in question was to be settled otherwise than by proceedings in that court.

   (f) In the case of jurisdiction based only on personal service, the foreign court was a seriously inconvenient forum for the trial of the action.

   (g) The foreign jurisdiction where judgment was rendered would not give recognition to a similar judgment rendered in this state.

   (h) The cause of action resulted in a defamation judgment obtained in a jurisdiction outside the United States, unless the court sitting in this state before which the matter is brought first determines that the defamation law applied in the foreign court’s adjudication provided at least as much protection for freedom of speech and press in that case as would be provided by the United States Constitution and the State Constitution.

History. s. 5, ch. 94-239; s. 1359, ch. 95-147; s. 78, ch. 99-251; s. 11, ch. 2001-154; s. 8, ch. 2005-241; s. 1, ch. 2009-232.