USA – NEW YORK Trends and Developments Contributed by: Christopher Harris and Leah Friedman, Latham & Watkins
The Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in New York The enforcement of foreign judgments in New York is a matter of practical significance for international liti - gants, given the city’s role as a global commercial and financial centre and the presence of material assets that may be available to satisfy judgments. However, foreign judgment enforcement can be a complicated exercise. The U.S. does not have a single, unified stat - ute that governs the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments nationwide. In New York, the analy - sis is principally governed by Article 53 of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules. This guide seeks to simplify the legal, procedural, and strategic factors to navigate when seeking to recog - nise and enforce foreign judgments in New York. First, it addresses the threshold requirements for recogni - tion of foreign judgments under Article 53, and the mandatory and discretionary grounds for non-recog - nition. It then reviews the procedural mechanisms that apply in recognition and enforcement proceedings, and the strategic considerations relevant to com - mencing those proceedings. The Legal Landscape A litigant wishing to implement a foreign judgement in New York must take two steps. First, they must have the judgment “recognised” by a court of competent jurisdiction. Then, they may seek to enforce it in the same manner as they would a domestic judgment. New York Law as the primary source of law New York law on the recognition of foreign judgments is drawn from two statutory instruments – the Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act of 2005 (the “2005 Act”) and its predecessor statute, the Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act of 1962 (the “1962 Act”) (together, the “Uniform Acts”). The 1962 Act was the first uniform statute in the U.S. to address the recognition of foreign judg - ments, and it served as the dominant framework for judgment recognition for several decades after its enactment. The 2005 Act updated the 1962 Act, intro - ducing important procedural and substantive modifi - cations. Both Acts apply exclusively to foreign money judgments.
New York adopted the 1962 Act in 1970, and in 2021 adopted the 2005 Act in its place, codified as Arti - cle 53 of New York’s Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”). Absence of binding federal law As noted above, there is no federal statute of general application that governs the recognition or enforce - ment of foreign judgments. The U.S. has signed – but not ratified – the 2019 Hague Convention on the Rec - ognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters, which provides a multi - lateral framework for the mutual recognition of judg - ments by state parties, and applies to civil judgments on the merits (including, as distinct from the Uniform Acts, non-money judgments). Because the Conven - tion has not been ratified, however, it has no bind - ing legal effect in the country. New York law governs foreign-judgment recognition proceedings within the state. Threshold Requirements for Recognition Under Article 53, a judgment creditor must satisfy cer - tain threshold requirements before a New York court will recognise their foreign judgment. Finality First, the judgment must be final, conclusive, and enforceable in the country where it was rendered. See CPLR Section 5302 (a)(2) (a foreign judgment is “final” if it is enforceable in the country where it was rendered). Id . “A judgment is enforceable where rendered within the meaning of New York law if the prevailing party need not take any additional action to secure the awarded sum of money”. Banca Di Cred- ito Cooperativo di Civitanova Marche e Montecosaro Soc . Cooperativa v Small , No 18-cv-11399, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 220066, at *6–7 (S.D.N.Y. 19 Dec. 2019) (internal quotation omitted). Even if the judgment debtor is actively appealing the underlying ruling, the judgment may still be con - sidered final if the laws of the rendering jurisdiction allow it to be enforced. See CPLR Section 5302 (a) (2) (a foreign judgment may be recognised “even though an appeal therefrom is pending or it is sub - ject to appeal”). Alesawy v Badawi , 57 N.Y.S.3d 879, 957 (Sup. Ct. 2017). In cases where an appeal is still
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