What happens if debtor changes address?

Question

I have an Arizona judgement against someone who ran away to Nevada. How do I domesticate it in Nevada or do I even need to? What evidence, documents etc does the court want to show they moved? I learned it from a PI.

Answer 1

I have an Arizona judgement against someone who ran away to Nevada. How do I domesticate it in Nevada or do I even need to?

You need to domesticate it in Nevada using the procedure set forth below.

What evidence, documents etc does the court want to show they moved? I learned it from a PI.

You need the documents described below. The court does not need any evidence to show that they moved. It just needs evidence that you have a valid judgement from another U.S. state as described below, and that needs to be served (i.e. notice has to be given in a specified way) to the debtor.

Nevada . . . has enacted the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, [which] permits enforcement of a judgment from another state upon the mere act of filing it in the office of a Clerk of the District Court and paying the required filing fee. The act of filing the foreign judgment gives it the effect of being a judgment of the court in the state in which it is filed. The process of enforcement then goes forward as if the judgment is a domestic one.

The Uniform Foreign Judgment Act, what was first adopted in Nevada in 1979 as set forth below, allows the state to enforce a judgment from another state without the expense of litigation. There are notable exceptions, which is why legal action should be commenced in the state where the defendant is domiciled. A foreign judgment must be filed with the Clerk of the District Court in the county in which the attempt is being made to enforce the judgment. This should include any enforcement proceedings such as the Writ of Execution upon assets, etc. The steps that must be taken are as follows:

Obtain an original exemplified copy of the judgment (a triple certified copy) from the court where the judgment was granted (see further explanation of the three signatures required below). NRS 17.350

File an application with the exemplified judgment together with a filing fee, with the District Court Clerk, and an affidavit which includes the name and last known address of all parties to the judgment, together with a description as to how much remains due on the judgment, and the extent to which it has been satisfied. See NRS 17. 360 below.

File a “NOTICE OF FILING APPLICATION FOR FOREIGN JUDGMENT AND AFFIAVIT OF ATTORNEY FOR THE JUDGMENT CREDITOR” and attach thereto file stamped copies of the Application (including the exemplified copy of the judgment) and Affidavit of the attorney for the judgment creditor, and then mail this Notice by Certified Mail to all judgment parties. NRS 17.360(2).

File an Affidavit of Service evidencing the mailing of the above documents to all judgment parties.

The plaintiff may also choose to record a certified copy of the Notice of Filing Application for Foreign Judgment and Affidavit of the Attorney for Judgment Creditor in any county in Nevada where the defendant may own real property either now or in the future.

[A court can] deny recognizing the foreign judgment [for certain reasons]. One reason for denial is an appeal, which is pending in the original court that first issued the judgment.. A “stay” may be granted if a debtor can allege grounds exist in the court’s jurisdiction where the foreign judgment is being filed, thus creating a “stay” preventing the foreign judgment from being recorded. Such grounds include: lack of sufficient notice in obtaining the original judgment, the judgment was obtained by fraud, the cause of action conflicts with state policies in the state where the foreign judgment is to be filed, the judgment conflicts with another final judgment, the original case is on appeal or being challenged by motion, or lack of jurisdiction over the debtor in the original judgment, etc.

A “stay” by the debtor must be filed within 30 days of receipt of the notice of the filing of the foreign judgment. Thirty (30) days after a foreign judgment is filed and notice has been given to the judgment debtor, the creditor may begin enforcement of the judgment by means allowed by law within the state in which the foreign judgment has been domesticated in the State of Nevada.

From here.