Chapter 266
2009 -- S 0598 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 11/12/09
A N A C T
RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- PROCEDURE GENERALLY
Introduced By: Senators Jabour, McCaffrey, Lynch, and Maselli
Date Introduced: February 25, 2009
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Title 9 of the General Laws entitled "COURTS
and CIVIL PROCEDURE-
PROCEDURE GENERALLY"
is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER
32.1
UNIFORM
FOREIGN MONEY CLAIMS ACT
9-32.1-1.
Short title. – This chapter shall be known and
may be cited as the "Uniform
Foreign Money Claims Act."
9-32.1-2.
Definitions. – The following words and terms
shall have the following
respective meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise:
(1)
"Action" means a judicial proceeding or arbitration in which a
payment in money may
be awarded or enforced with respect to a foreign money
claim.
(2)
"Bank-offered spot rate" means the spot rate of exchange at which a
bank will sell
foreign money at a spot rate.
(3) "Conversion
date" means the banking day next preceding the date on which money, in
accordance with this chapter, is:
(i) Paid to a claimant in an action or distribution
proceeding;
(ii) Paid to the
official designated by law to enforce a judgment or award on behalf of a
claimant; or
(iii) Used to recoup,
set-off, or counterclaim in different moneys in an action or
distribution proceeding.
(4)
"Distribution proceeding" means a judicial or non-judicial proceeding
for the
distribution of a fund in which one or more foreign money claims
is asserted and includes an
accounting, an assignment for the benefit of creditors, a
foreclosure, the liquidation or
rehabilitation of a corporation or other entity, and the
distribution of an estate, trust or other fund.
(5) "Foreign
money" means money other than money of the
(6) "Foreign
money claim" means a claim upon an obligation to pay, or a claim for
recovery of a loss, expressed in or measured by foreign money.
(7) "Money"
means a medium of exchange for the payment of obligations or a store of
value authorized or adopted by a government or by
inter-governmental agreement.
(8) "Money of
the claim" means the money determined as proper pursuant to section 9-
32.1-4.
(9)
"Person" means an individual, a corporation, government or
governmental
subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, joint
venture, partnership, association, two or
more persons having a joint or common interest, or any
other legal or commercial entity.
(10) "Rate of
exchange" means the rate at which money of one country may be converted
into money of another country in a free financial market convenient
to or reasonably usable by a
person obligated to pay or to state a rate of conversion. If
separate rates of exchange apply to
different kinds of transactions, the term means the rate
applicable to the particular transaction
giving rise to the foreign money claim.
(11) "Spot
rate" means the rate of exchange at which foreign money is sold by a bank
or
other dealer in foreign exchange for immediate or next day
availability or for settlement by
immediate payment in cash or equivalent, by charge to an
account, or by an agreed delayed
settlement not exceeding two (2) days.
(12)
"State" means a state of the
the
9-32.1-3.
Scope. -- (a) This
chapter applies only to a foreign money claim in an action or
distribution proceeding.
(b) This chapter
applies to foreign money issues even if other law under the conflict of
laws rules of this state applies to other issues in the
action or distribution proceeding.
9-32.1-4.
Variation by agreement. -- (a) The effect of this chapter may be varied by
agreement of the parties made before or after commencement of
an action or distribution
proceeding or the entry of judgment.
(b) Parties to a
transaction may agree upon the money to be used in a transaction giving
rise to a foreign money claim and may agree to use
different moneys for different aspects of the
transaction. Stating the price in foreign money for one aspect of
a transaction does not alone
require the use of that money for other aspects of the
transaction.
9-32.1-5.
Determining money of the claim. -- (a) The money in which the parties to a
transaction have agreed that payment is to be made is the proper
money of the claim for payment.
(b) If the parties to
a transaction have not otherwise agreed, the proper money of the
claim, as in each case may be appropriate, is the money:
(1) Regularly used
between the parties as a matter of usage or course of dealing;
(2) Used at the time
of a transaction in international trade, by trade usage or common
practice, for valuing or settling transactions in the particular
commodity or service involved; or
(3) In which the loss
was ultimately felt or will be incurred by the party claimant.
9-32.1-6. Determining the amount of money of certain contract claims.
-- (a) If an
amount contracted to be paid in a foreign money is measured
by a specified amount of a different
money, the amount to be paid is determined on the
conversion date.
(b) If an amount
contracted to be paid in foreign money is to be measured by a different
money at the rate of exchange prevailing on a date before
default, that rate of exchange applies
only to payments made within a reasonable time after
default, not exceeding thirty (30) days.
Thereafter, conversion is made at the bank-offered
spot rate on the conversion date.
(c) A monetary claim
is neither usurious nor unconscionable because the agreement on
which it is based provides that the amount of the debtor's
obligation to be paid in the debtor's
money, when received by the creditor, must equal a
specified amount of the foreign money of the
country of the creditor. If, because of unexcused delay in
payment of a judgment or award, the
amount received by the creditor does not equal the amount of
the foreign money specified in the
agreement, the court or arbitrator shall amend the judgment or
award accordingly.
9-32.1-7.
Asserting and defending a foreign money claim. --
(a) A person may assert a
claim in a specified foreign money. If a foreign money
claim is not asserted, the claimant makes
the claim in
(b) An opposing party
may allege and prove that a claim, in whole or in part, is in
different money than that asserted by the claimant.
(c) A person may
assert a defense, set-off, recoupment, or counterclaim in any money
without regard to the money of other claims.
(d) The determination
of the proper money of the claim is a question of law.
9-32.1-8.
Judgments and awards on foreign money claims – Times of money
conversion – Form of judgment. -- (a) Except as provided in
subsection (c), a judgment or
award on a foreign-money claim must be stated in an amount
of the money of the claim.
(b) A judgment or
award on a foreign money claim is payable in that foreign money or, at
the option of the debtor, in the amount of
money on the conversion date at a bank-offered spot rate.
(c) Assessed costs
must be entered in
(d) Each payment in
or award on a foreign money claim in the amount of the
foreign money that could be purchased
by the dollars at a bank-offered spot rate of exchange
at or near the close of business on the
conversion date for that payment.
(e) A judgment or
award made in an action or distribution proceeding on both: (1) A
defense, set-off, recoupment, or counterclaim and (2) The
adverse party's claim, must be netted
by converting the money of the smaller into the money of
the larger, and by subtracting the
smaller from the larger, and specify the rates of exchange
used.
(f) A judgment
substantially in the following form complies with subsection (a):
[IT IS ADJUDGED AND
ORDERED, that Defendant (insert
name) pay to
Plaintiff (insert name) the sum of (insert
amount in the foreign money) plus interest on that sum
at the rate of (insert rate – in accordance with section
9-32.1-10) percent a year or, at the option of
the judgment debtor, the number of
foreign money) with interest due, at a bank-offered spot rate
at or near the close of business on
the banking day next before the day of payment, together
with assessed costs of (insert
amount)
(g) If a contract
claim is of the type covered by subsection 9-32.1-4(a) or (b), the
judgment or award must be entered for the amount of money
stated to measure the obligation to
be paid in the money specified for payment or, at the
option of the debtor, the number of United
States dollars which will purchase the computed amount
of the money of payment on the
conversion date at a bank-offered spot rate.
(h) A judgment must
be filed and indexed in foreign money in the same manner, and has
the same effect as a lien, as other judgments. It may be
discharged by payment.
9-32.1-9.
Conversions of foreign money in distribution proceeding. -- The rate
of
exchange prevailing at or near the close of business on the
day the distribution proceeding is
initiated, governs all exchanges of foreign money in a
distribution proceeding. A foreign money
claimant in a distribution proceeding shall assert its claim
in the named foreign money and show
the amount of
initiated.
9-32.1-10.
Prejudgment and judgment interest. -- (a) With
respect to a foreign money
claim, recovery of pre-judgment or pre-award interest and
the rate of interest to be applied in the
action or distribution proceeding, except as provided in
subsection (b), are matters of the
substantive law governing the right to recovery under the
conflict-of-laws rules of this state.
(b) The court or
arbitrator shall increase or decrease the amount of pre-judgment or pre-
award interest otherwise payable in a judgment or award in
foreign money to the extent required
by the law of this state governing a failure to make or
accept an offer of settlement or offer of
judgment, or conduct by a party or its attorney causing undue
delay or expense.
(c) A judgment or
award on a foreign money claim bears interest at the rate applicable to
judgments of this state.
9-32.1-11.
Enforcement of foreign judgments. -- (a) If an
action is brought to enforce a
judgment of another jurisdiction expressed in a foreign money
and the judgment is recognized in
this state as enforceable, the enforcing judgment must be
entered as provided in 9-32.1-8, whether
or not the foreign judgment confers an option to pay in
an equivalent amount of
dollars.
(b) A foreign
judgment may be filed in accordance with any rule or statute of this state
providing a procedure for its recognition and enforcement.
(c) A satisfaction or
partial payment made upon the foreign judgment, on proof thereof,
must be credited against the amount of foreign money
specified in the judgment, notwithstanding
the entry of judgment in this state.
(d) A judgment
entered on a foreign money claim only in
state must be enforced in this state in
9-32.1-12.
Determining
limited purposes. -- (a) Computations under this section are for the limited purposes of
the
section and do not affect computation of the
judgment for the purpose of payment.
(b) For the limited purpose
of facilitating the enforcement of provisional remedies in an
action, the value in
attachment, garnishment, execution, or other legal process, the
amount of
issue for assessing costs, or the amount of
other court-required undertaking, must be ascertained as
provided in subsections (c) and (d).
(c) A party seeking
process, costs, bond, or other undertaking under subsection (b) shall
compute in
spot rate prevailing at or near the close of business on
the banking day next preceding the filing of
a request or application for the issuance of process or
for the determination of costs, or an
application for a bond or other court-required undertaking.
(d) A party seeking
the process, costs, bond, or other undertaking under subsection (b)
shall file with each request or application an affidavit or
certificate executed in good faith by its
counsel or a bank officer, stating the market quotation used
and how it was obtained, and setting
forth the calculation. Affected court officials incur no liability,
after a filing of the affidavit or
certificate, for acting as if the judgment were in the
amount of United States dollars stated in the
affidavit or certificate.
9-32.1-13.
Effect of currency revalorization. -- (a) If,
after an obligation is expressed or
a loss is incurred in a foreign money, the country
issuing or adopting that money substitutes a
new money in place of that money, the obligation or the
loss is treated as if expressed or incurred
in the new money at the rate of conversion the issuing
country establishes for the payment of like
obligations or losses denominated in the former money.
(b) If substitution
under subsection (a) occurs after a judgment or award is entered on a
foreign money claim, the court or arbitrator shall amend the
judgment or award by a like
conversion of the former money.
9-32.1-14.
Supplementary general principles of law. -- Unless
displaced by particular
provisions of this chapter, the principles of law and equity,
including the law merchant, and the
law relative to capacity to contract, principal and
agent, estoppel, fraud, misrepresentation,
duress, coercion, mistake, bankruptcy, or other validating
or invalidating causes supplement its
provisions.
9-32.1-15.
Uniformity of application and construction. -- This
chapter shall be applied
and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make
uniform the law with respect to the
subject of this chapter among states enacting it.
9-32.1-16.
Severability. -- If any provision of this
chapter or its application to any person
or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not
affect other provisions or applications of
this chapter which can be given effect without the invalid
provision or application, and to this end
the provisions of this chapter are severable.
9-32.1-17.
Legislative intent. -- It is the intention of
the general assembly that the
official comments of the national conference of commissioners
on uniform state laws pertaining
to this chapter represent the express legislative intent
of the general assembly and shall be used as
a guide for interpretation of this chapter.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage and shall
apply to actions and
distribution proceedings commenced after its effective date.
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LC01286/SUB A/2
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