Sister State Judgments.

The Court of Appeal was asked to decide two issues in a matter involving the Sister State and Foreign Money-Judgments Act [SSFMJA; Code of Civil Procedure section 1710.10]:  1) “Is a judgment creditor which is a foreign limited liability company required to qualify to do business in California as a precondition to applying for entry of a sister state judgment under the SSFMJA?”; and 2) “Is the 30-day limit to make a motion to vacate the judgment triggered by service on a corporate judgment debtor’s designated agent for service, without regard to when the judgment debtor obtained ‘actual notice’ of entry of the sister state judgment under SSFMJA?”  The appellate court found:  “A judgment creditor which is a foreign limited liability company does not have to qualify to do business in California in order to enforce a sister state judgment under the SSFMJA.  Substantial evidence supports the trial court’s findings judgment debtors were served properly with process in the sister state action and with notice of entry of the judgment through their designated agent for service in California.  Such service on the designated agent, not a judgment debtor’s ‘actual notice,’ triggers the 30-day limit for making a motion to vacate the judgment, so long as the judgment debtor was effectively served with process in the sister state action.  Code of Civil Procedure section 473.5, which is a procedural remedy regarding relief from a default or default judgment, is inapplicable to a judgment entered under the SSFMJA.”  (Conseco Marketing, LLC v. IFA and Insurance Services Inc. (Cal. App. Second Dist., Div. 1; November 22, 2013) 221 Cal.App.4th 831, [164 Cal.Rptr.3d 788].