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Domesticating Your Foreign Judgments with Skilled Collections Attorney Alan M. Cohen

by | Nov 9, 2020 | Experienced Debt Collectors

Like nearly every other state as of 2020, Massachusetts finally adopted the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, allowing out-of-state judgments to be domesticated by Massachusetts attorneys. Under this act, we now have two different methods of domesticating your judgment in Massachusetts: domestication by registration or domestication through litigation.

The Law Offices of Alan M Cohen LLC has experience domesticating and enforcing foreign judgments for out-of-state creditors using both registration and domestication through litigation. Once domesticated, we can use a series of collection methods, such as property attachments and injunctions, to make sure you get paid.

How We Can File Foreign Judgments for Domestication By Registration

Obtaining a Massachusetts judgment is a straightforward process under the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, and one that the Law Offices of Alan M. Cohen & Associates LLC has experience with. We file your judgment with the court clerk, who will then give notice to your debtor. Once a minimum of 30 days has gone by, the execution is issued, and our aggressive and relentless collections attorneys can then act and use our arsenal of debt collection methods to help you get paid.

Registration vs. Litigation

As mentioned earlier, the two methods of domesticating your judgment in Massachusetts are domestication by registration and domestication by litigation. The collections attorneys at the Law Offices of Alan M. Cohen & Associates LLC have experience with both of these methods, knowing what sets them apart and what makes one a better choice than the other based on the specifics of your case.

Registration

To register your out of state judgment in Massachusetts, you will need an exemplified copy of the out-of-state judgment, as well as an affidavit stating that you are the holder of the judgment and that it remains unsatisfied, whether in part or in whole. Our experienced judgment enforcement attorneys can prepare the applicable paperwork. Once filed, the clerk must give notice to the defendant, who has 30 days to dispute this judgment before an execution is issued. Domestication through registration is beneficial in that the defendant bears the burden of trying to challenge the judgment; however, you cannot seek any attachments — whether with notice or ex parte — prior to the execution being issued.

Litigation

When we domesticate foreign judgments by litigation, you will also need an exemplified copy of your judgment, and from there, our relentless foreign judgment enforcement attorneys will sue your debtor based on said judgment. In this case, our attorneys and not the court clerk have the summons served upon the debtor. The case proceeds almost like any other litigation in Massachusetts. This means that unlike in the case of domestication by registration where no prejudgment security motions are usually allowed, because it is “regular” litigation, the Law Offices of Alan M. Cohen & Associates LLC can fully use its special skill set to try to secure prejudgment security so that when we domesticate your judgment, there are assets from which to get you paid.

There are two critical factors when it comes to litigation: the out-of-state court must have had jurisdiction over the defendant, and the court must have subject matter jurisdiction over the litigation in the foreign court. Your debtor has the opportunity to raise the limited defense of fraud, which can only be proven if the court determines they were deprived of their day in court due to any fraudulent conduct on your part.

What Kinds of Collection Methods Can Be Used?

Once we secure an enforcement of your judgment under Massachusetts jurisdiction, we can use a variety of tools to secure any monies you are owed by your out-of-state debtor. These include, but are not limited to;

  • Bank attachments: We can use attachments on your debtor’s bank account, either with notice or ex parte, to freeze their assets and prevent them from selling or hiding anything.
  • Special Attachments: We use this tool to attach the debtor’s interest in property standing in the name of someone else.
  • Post-judgment collections: Through the use of wage garnishments (against individual defendants), reach and apply injunctions, and supplementary process, we take aggressive measures to try to make sure that you get paid, even when your debtor continues to drag their feet post-judgment.

Regardless of whether you are seeking a stateside foreign judgment domestication or one from overseas, our judgment enforcement collection lawyers at the Law Offices of Alan M. Cohen & Associates LLC will fight to have your judgment domesticated and enforced, and will do everything within our power in our attempts to collect your delinquent accounts receivables.

Our Experienced Attorneys Help You Get Paid

If you are dealing with delinquent debtors within Massachusetts jurisdiction, the experienced, aggressive, and effective collections lawyers at the Law Offices of Alan M. Cohen & Associates LLC will fight until you either get paid or no one else can get you paid. Call 508-763-6604 or email [email protected] to discuss how we can help your case.

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