78B-5-454.  Personal jurisdiction.

(1)  A foreign-country judgment may not be refused recognition for lack of personal jurisdiction if:

Terms Used In Utah Code 78B-5-454

  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Foreign country: means a government other than:
(a) the United States;
(b) a state, district, commonwealth, territory, or insular possession of the United States; or
(c) any other government with regard to which the decision in this state as to whether to recognize a judgment of that government's courts is initially subject to determination under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution. See Utah Code 78B-5-451
  • Foreign-country judgment: means a judgment of a court of a foreign country. See Utah Code 78B-5-451
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Property: includes both real and personal property. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • (a)  the defendant was served with process personally in the foreign country;

    (b)  the defendant voluntarily appeared in the proceeding, except for the purpose of protecting property seized or threatened with seizure in the proceeding or of contesting the jurisdiction of the court over the defendant;

    (c)  the defendant, before the commencement of the proceeding, had agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of the foreign court with respect to the subject matter involved;

    (d)  the defendant was domiciled in the foreign country when the proceeding was instituted or was a corporation or other form of business organization that had the corporation’s or organization’s principal place of business in, or was organized under the laws of, the foreign country;

    (e)  the defendant had a business office in the foreign country and the proceeding in the foreign court involved a cause of action arising out of business done by the defendant through that office in the foreign country; or

    (f)  the defendant operated a motor vehicle or airplane in the foreign country and the proceeding involved a cause of action arising out of that operation.

    (2)  The list describing the grounds for personal jurisdiction in Subsection (1) is not exclusive.

    (3)  A court of this state may recognize grounds for personal jurisdiction other than those described in Subsection (1) as sufficient to support a foreign-country judgment.

    Enacted by Chapter 370, 2020 General Session