| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to grounds for nonrecognition of foreign |
| 3 | defamation judgments; amending s. 55.605, F.S.; providing |
| 4 | that an out-of-country foreign judgment need not be |
| 5 | recognized if the cause of action resulted in a defamation |
| 6 | judgment obtained in a jurisdiction outside the United |
| 7 | States, unless a court in this state first determines that |
| 8 | the defamation law applied in the foreign court's |
| 9 | adjudication provided at least as much protection for |
| 10 | freedom of speech and press as would be provided in this |
| 11 | state; creating s. 55.6055, F.S.; providing that the |
| 12 | courts of this state have personal jurisdiction over a |
| 13 | person who obtains a judgment in a defamation proceeding |
| 14 | outside the United States against a person residing in or |
| 15 | having property in this state for the purpose of |
| 16 | determining whether the foreign defamation judgment should |
| 17 | be deemed nonrecognizable; providing for retroactive |
| 18 | application; providing an effective date. |
| 19 |
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| 20 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 21 |
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| 22 | Section 1. Paragraph (h) is added to subsection (2) of |
| 23 | section 55.605, Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 24 | 55.605 Grounds for nonrecognition.-- |
| 25 | (2) An out-of-country foreign judgment need not be |
| 26 | recognized if: |
| 27 | (h) The cause of action resulted in a defamation judgment |
| 28 | obtained in a jurisdiction outside the United States, unless the |
| 29 | court sitting in this state before which the matter is brought |
| 30 | first determines that the defamation law applied in the foreign |
| 31 | court's adjudication provided at least as much protection for |
| 32 | freedom of speech and press in that case as would be provided by |
| 33 | the United States Constitution and the State Constitution. |
| 34 | Section 2. Section 55.6055, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 35 | to read: |
| 36 | 55.6055 Foreign defamation judgment.-- |
| 37 | (1) For the purposes of rendering declaratory relief with |
| 38 | respect to a person's liability for a foreign defamation |
| 39 | judgment and determining whether the foreign defamation judgment |
| 40 | should be deemed nonrecognizable under s. 55.605, the courts of |
| 41 | this state have personal jurisdiction over any person who |
| 42 | obtains a judgment in a defamation proceeding outside the United |
| 43 | States against any person who: |
| 44 | (a) Is a resident of this state; |
| 45 | (b) Is a person or entity amenable to the jurisdiction of |
| 46 | this state; |
| 47 | (c) Has assets in this state; or |
| 48 | (d) May have to take action in this state to comply with |
| 49 | the judgment. |
| 50 | (2) This section applies to judgments rendered in |
| 51 | defamation proceedings outside the United States before, on, or |
| 52 | after July 1, 2009. |
| 53 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |