UK Ltd Co. Protection In US Court.

[Paul Cu]

hi
just wondering if knows wether being registered as a UK Ltd co. gives you any limited liability protection when being sued in a US court.
thanks in advance.
Paul

[R0b]

Nope. If you don't operate in the US and only in the UK then any succesful judgment would need to be enforced over here and would need to request permission from the courts. There is a criteria for a court to apply if granting an enforcement order of a foreign judgment.

[Paul Cu]

thanks Rob - currently being sued in Illinois for making an item 'available for sale' in the US but it would have to be produced and posted from UK so would that still come under 'operate in the US'.
thanks again
Paul

[R0b]

I don't know whether what you describe is considered as operating in the US because I have next to no knowledge of US state and federal laws. What I can say is that there are certain UK laws that allow the enforcement of a foreign judgment. However (and don't quote me on this), I believe there is no statutory law on enforcing US judgments and the common law rules would apply i.e. court decisions.

Technically speaking, a US judgment would not be directly enforceable against you in the UK but I do know the courts have treated US judgments as a contractual debt, that is assuming it is a breach of contract and damages are sought. If you are talking about a regulatory or compliance thing that is exclusive to the US, then I'm not entirely sure if that could be enforced and the court might want to give it more consideration, especially if you are unable to defend yourself in those proceedings.

I would suggest you do some research on enforcement of foreign judgments, there will be plenty of information from law firms giving guidance on this around US judgments, so long as you are looking at something recent.

[echat11]

Here's some info - https://www.cliffordchance.com/conte...in-england.pdf

[Paul Cu]

thanks so much for your response Rob - really appreciate it. will definitely do more research now and start with that link you gave.
thanks again
Paul