West Virginia Foreign Judgment Enrollment
West Virginia Code
Definitions.
In this article "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. §55-14-1.
Filing and status of foreign judgments.
A copy of any foreign judgment authenticated in accordance with
an act of Congress or the statutes of this state may be filed in the office
of the clerk of any circuit court of this state. The clerk shall treat
the foreign judgment in the same manner as a judgment of any 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: Provided, that notwithstanding any other provision
of this article to the contrary, a citizen of this state shall be entitled
to the same exemption from execution, attachment or seizure and sale as
a citizen of the state where the original judgment was entered. A debt
collector seeking to enforce a foreign judgment in this state shall ensure
that any suggestee execution or other legal process seeking to seize property
of a debtor pursuant to a foreign judgment shall clearly state, on the face of the petition or other filing,
any property exempt in the state in which the original judgment was entered
and it shall specify that the property is exempt from execution, attachment
or seizure and sale in this state. Any person seeking to enforce a foreign
judgment in this state who violates any provision of this section shall
be liable to the person against whom the judgment is sought to be enforced
for actual damages and, in addition thereto, shall be liable to such person
for a penalty in an amount not more than one thousand dollars. Any person
seeking to enforce a foreign judgment in this state who willfully violates
any provision of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or
confined in jail not more than one year, or both fined and confined.
§55-14-2.
Notice of filing.
(a) At the time of the filing of the foreign judgment,
the judgment creditor or his lawyer shall make and file with the clerk
of the circuit 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 the affidavit,
the clerk 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
in the docket. 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. Lack of mailing notice of filing by the clerk 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 may issue until thirty days after the date the judgment
is filed. §55-14-3.
Stay.
(a) If the judgment debtor shows the circuit 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 circuit 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. §55-14-4.
Fees.
Fees for filing, docketing, transcription or other enforcement
proceedings shall be as provided for in section eleven, article one, chapter
fifty-nine of this code. §55-14-5.
Optional procedure.
The right of a judgment creditor to bring an action to enforce
his judgment instead of proceeding under this article remains unimpaired.
§55-14-6.
Uniformity of interpretation.
This article shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate
its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact
it. §55-14-7.
Short title.
This article may be cited as the "Uniform Enforcement of Foreign
Judgments Act." §55-14-8.