(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.
(i) The judgment was rendered in circumstances that raise substantial doubt about the integrity of the rendering court with respect to the judgment.
(j) The specific proceeding in the foreign court leading to the judgment was not compatible with the requirements of due process of law.
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; s. 1, ch. 2018-37.
Structure Florida Statutes
Title VI - Civil Practice and Procedure
55.01 - Judgments; General Form.
55.03 - Judgments; Rate of Interest, Generally.
55.04 - Judgments; Rate of Interest, Bonds of County, Etc.
55.05 - Judgments; Power of Attorney to Confess Invalid.
55.07 - Judgments; Effect of Failure to Record.
55.071 - Judgments; Effect of Invalid Affidavit or Oath.
55.081 - Statute of Limitations, Lien of Judgment.
55.11 - Judgments; No Lien Against Municipalities.
55.13 - Judgments; Rights of Sureties, Etc.
55.141 - Satisfaction of Judgments and Decrees; Duties of Clerk.
55.145 - Discharge of Judgments in Bankruptcy.
55.146 - Certain Property Exempt.
55.201 - Central Database of Judgment Liens on Personal Property.
55.202 - Judgments, Orders, and Decrees; Lien on Personal Property.
55.203 - Judgment Lien Certificate; Content, Filing, and Indexing.
55.204 - Duration and Continuation of Judgment Lien; Destruction of Records.
55.205 - Effect of Judgment Lien.
55.207 - Correction of Judgment Lien File.
55.208 - Effect of Filed Judgment Lien on Writs of Execution Previously Delivered to a Sheriff.
55.209 - Department of State; Processing Fees, Responsibilities.
55.501 - Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act; Short Title.
55.503 - Recording and Status of Foreign Judgments; Fees.
55.505 - Notice of Recording; Prerequisite to Enforcement.
55.507 - Lien; When Effective.
55.509 - Stay of Enforcement of Foreign Judgment.
55.601 - Uniform Out-of-Country Foreign Money-Judgment Recognition Act; Short Title.
55.604 - Recognition and Enforcement.
55.605 - Grounds for Nonrecognition.
55.6055 - Foreign Defamation Judgment.