Are there available equitable defenses to contest a claim to invalidate a foreign divorce judgment?
Even if a foreign country’s judgment of divorce should not be recognized pursuant to the principles of comity, it is quite possible that the spouse who is opposed to the recognition of the judgment will be barred by equitable doctrines from contesting the validity of the foreign judgment. If a defendant spouse made an appearance at the foreign divorce proceedings, then a New Jersey court will often conclude that the defendant is barred from claiming that the divorce is invalid. Furthermore, a defendant spouse will be barred from arguing that a prior foreign divorce is invalid if that party unreasonably delayed in attacking the foreign judgment of divorce. The delay must also be proven to cause prejudice to the opposing spouse. Once again it must be emphasized that each case is determined on an individual basis. There is no hard line rule or case law that governs the enforcement of foreign divorce judgments. A New Jersey family court will focus its analysis on: a) the domicile of the pa
