Enforcing an Out of State Judgment in Massachusetts

On April 1, 2019, Massachusetts adopted the "Massachusetts Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act (the "Act"). M.G.L. Ch. 218, § 4A. Under the Act, any plaintiff, or plaintiff in counterclaim, who has a judgment from an out of state court can obtain a Massachusetts judgment. Prior to the adoption of the Act, a plaintiff would need to initiate a new law suit, although a simpler one, in order to obtain a Massachusetts judgment.

Now, a plaintiff can obtain a Massachusetts judgment by obtaining a certified copy of the out of state judgment, and filing it with the appropriate paper work in the Massachusetts court where the defendant lives or has a usual place of business. The defendant will be notified, and, if the defendant does not show the court good reason why the judgment should not enter in Massachusetts, the court will enter the judgment. The plaintiff can then obtain an execution from the Massachusetts court to levy on defendant's real estate in Massachusetts, or to exercise other judgment creditor remedies such as requiring the defendant to appear at a debtor's exam or "supplementary process" hearing. At the debtor's exam, the plaintiff can request the defendant to disclose their assets to the court, and can request that the court enter either a lump sum or monthly payment order to satisfy the judgment.