It is fairly common to enforce a foreign judgment in Connecticut, although it can be unexpectedly difficult sometimes.  There are two major different types of foreign judgments:

The procedure to enforce them is different.

    At common law, a judgment was merely evidence of a debt.  It was (and remains) possible to simply sue on a judgment.  That is most often done to renew the judgment (because all judgments have a statute of limitations period).  In Connecticut, a small claims judgment (the maximum size claims a small claims session will hear is $5,000) is good for ten (10) years.  A small claims judgment may be renewed by suing on it within fifteen (15) years.  An ordinary Connecticut Superior Court judgment for money damages may be enforced by an execution for twenty years.  The judgment may be renewed by suing on it within twenty five (25) years.  The statute reads:

§52-598. Execution or action upon judgment for money damages
(a) No execution to enforce a judgment for money damages rendered in any court of this state may be issued after the expiration of twenty years from the date the judgment was entered and no action based upon such a judgment may be instituted after the expiration of twenty-five years from the date the judgment was entered, except that there shall be no time limitation on the issuance of such execution or the institution of such action if the judgment was rendered in an action to recover damages for personal injury caused by sexual assault where the party legally at fault for such injury was convicted of a violation of section 53a-70 or 53a-70a.

(b) No execution to enforce a judgment for money damages rendered in a small claims session may be issued after the expiration of ten years from the date the judgment was entered, and no action based upon any such judgment may be instituted after the expiration of fifteen years from the date the judgment was entered.

    Enforcement of foreign country judgments is governed by Connecticut's enactment of the 1962 Uniform Recognition of Foreign-Money Judgments Act, which is codified at Connecticut General Statutes §50a-30, et seq.  Members of Brown & Welsh, P.C. testified in support of this bill as it was considered by the Connecticut General Assembly Judiciary Committee in 1988.

    Enforcement of sister state judgment is governed by Connecticut's enactment of the 1964 Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgment's Act, which is codified at Connecticut General Statutes §52-604, et seq.  Connecticut's act does not allow appearance default judgments to be enforced using its expedited procedures (which differs from the Uniform Act).

    Judgments can also be registered pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1963.  A copy of the federal form can be found here.

   Houston Putnam Lowry has lectured on the recognition of foreign judgments.  A copy of one of his papers on the topic is available here, which includes sample forms.  He also made comments on May 31, 2002 to the American Law Institute's March 29, 2002 draft statute on the enforcement of foreign judgments, which was ultimately approved by the American Law Institute. 

    While almost any attorney can get a judgment, not a lot of attorneys know how to enforce their judgments.  A number of mechanisms are avaible to enforce judgments, such as executions, charging orders, and turnover orders.  There are also security measures, such as personal and real property postjudgment liens (and Connecticut judgments normally accrue 10% interest, although federal judgments accrue at a lesser rate). 

    Brown & Welsh, P.C. has acted as counsel for parties seeking to enforce judgments in cases such as Dick Warner Cargo Handling Corp. v. Aetna Business Credit, Inc. 746 F.2d 126 (2nd Cir. 1984), Fleet National Bank v. Narco Finishing, 2001 Conn. Super. LEXIS 1222 (5/2/2001) and Caruso, Burlington et al. v. Frieda Perlow, 06-CBAR-1036 (4/7/2006).  Houston Putnam Lowry and Thomas J. Welsh delivered a lecture entitled "I Have My Judgment – Now What Do I Do? An Overview Of Post-Judgment Procedures" to the Connecticut Bar Association's Section of Commercial Law and Bankruptcy on September 28, 2005.  A copy of the lecture materials are available here.