The statute of limitations for confirming a foreign commercial arbitral award in the United States is typically three years. This relatively short statute of limitations may pose a challenge on award creditors, especially if they discover later in the enforcement process that the award debtor has assets in the United States. However, the award creditor may consider first converting the award into a foreign judgment, then seeking recognition and enforcement of that foreign judgment in U.S. courts to take advantage of the longer statute of limitations for enforcing foreign judgments, specifically, foreign money judgments. This workaround is possible because a judgment, even if it enforces an arbitral award, is considered a separate instrument from the award itself. This article highlights four strategic considerations for a party seeking to recognize and enforce a monetary award in the United States using this method.
Originally published in the New York Law Journal - June 10, 2020.
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