Can a Florida Court Obtain Jurisdiction Over a Non-Florida Limited Liability Company to Enforce a Charging Lien Against a Florida Resident’s Membership Interest? South Florida Commercial Litigation and Collection Attorney?

If you are reading this article, you are likely a judgment creditor attempting to recover, on your judgment, against an individual or entity that is resident in Florida or that has moved to Florida in order to attempt to avoid paying you..  The Florida LLC Act provides a mechanism to have the court enter a charging order against the judgment debtor’s membership interest in a limited liability company or, under limited circumstances, to order that the member’s interest be foreclosed to satisfy the judgment.  One argument that is generally raised by the judgment debtor, concerning non-Florida limited liability companies, is that a Florida court may only exercise jurisdiction over property of a judgment debtor located within the court’s jurisdictional territory.  As a result, the judgment debtor argues that because a foreign limited liability is located outside the State of Florida, Florida courts do not have jurisdiction to enforce the judgment against those entities.  However, a membership interest in a limited liability company, including foreign limited liability companies, is intangible personal property which accompanies the person of the owner.  Therefore, because the member’s interest resides with the Judgment debtor in Florida, the membership interests are located in Florida and are properly subject to in rem jurisdiction in the State of Florida.

Please keep in mind that this article is for informational purposes only.  It is not designed to be complete in all material respects.  Moreover, there may be facts specific to your situation that would have to be considered to determine whether or not Florida courts would have jurisdiction to enforce your judgment against a foreign limited liability company.  Thus, if you have any questions relative to this post, please feel free to contact us.

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At the Boca Raton Law Office of Russell L. Forkey, we represent clients throughout South and Central Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Sunrise, Plantation, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Delray, Boynton Beach, Hollywood, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Manalapan, Jupiter, Gulf Stream, Wellington, Fort Pierce, Stuart, Palm City, Jupiter, Miami, Orlando, Maitland, Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Heathrow, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach, Vero Beach, Daytona Beach, Deland, New Smyrna Beach, Ormand Beach, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Dade County, Orange County, Seminole County, Martin County, Brevard County, Indian River County, Volusia County and Monroe County, Florida. The law office of Russell L. Forkey also represents South American, Canadian and other foreign residents that do business with U.S. financial institutions, investment advisors, brokerage, precious metal firms and other types of business activities.