806.24 Uniform enforcement of foreign judgments act.

(1) Definition. In this section “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.

(2) Filing and status of foreign judgments. A copy of any foreign judgment authenticated in accordance with the act of congress or the statutes of this state may be filed in the office of the clerk of circuit court of any county of this state. The clerk shall treat any foreign judgment in the same manner as a judgment of the 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.

(3) Notice of filing.

(a) At the time of the filing of the foreign judgment, the judgment creditor or lawyer shall make and file with the clerk of 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 affidavit, the clerk of circuit court 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 on the court record. 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 of circuit court. Lack of mailing notice of filing by the clerk of circuit court 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 shall issue until 15 days after the date the judgment is filed.

(4) Stay.

(a) If the judgment debtor shows the 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 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.

(5) Optional procedure. The right of a judgment creditor to bring an action to enforce the judgment instead of proceeding under this section remains unimpaired.

(6) Uniformity of interpretation. This section shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it.

(7) Short title. This act may be cited as the “Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act".

History: Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 738 (1975); 1975 c. 218; 1995 a. 224.

Cross-reference: See s. 618.61 for provision for reciprocal enforcement of foreign insurance decrees or orders.

The established constitutional principles that: 1) without proper service of process, no full faith and credit need be accorded a foreign judgment; 2) want of jurisdiction is a matter of legitimate inquiry when enforcement of such a judgment is sought; and 3) mere recital of jurisdiction or jurisdictional facts is not sufficient to bar such inquiry, apply to both actions in rem and quasi in rem as well as to personal judgments. Hansen v. McAndrews, 49 Wis. 2d 625, 183 N.W.2d 1 (1971).

The rate of interest provided by a foreign judgment docketed in Wisconsin controls rather than the s. 815.05 (8) rate. Prof. Office Buildings, Inc. v. Royal Indemnity Co. 145 Wis. 2d 573, 427 N.W.2d 427 (Ct. App. 1988).