In our most recent three articles we discussed how to enforce a judgment for debt owed to you in the United States. But what if your client operates out of a foreign country and has not paid what is owed to you? Are there any means at your disposal to enforced collection? Yes there are.
Under certain very specific circumstances the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) can provide an advantage to you if your non-paying client is outside the U.S. Under FSIA it is possible to direct service upon a foreign government for a debt owed to you by your debtor. Ordinarily a foreign government is immune from U.S. lawsuits, however exceptions apply, such as in cases where the defendant being served is considered an “agency or instrumentality” of the foreign state, or, by virtue of its “core functions” on behalf of the state, is indistinguishable from the state itself.
In such cases where a federal court concludes a defendant was operating on behalf of or as an agency of a foreign state, service can be directed upon that nation’s embassy in the U.S. In such cases, while actually collecting the money continues to be your burden, the collection of that debt, by virtue of service having been directed upon a foreign embassy, is now an expressed interest of the U.S. government.
The Jayaram Law routinely and successfully assists its clients in their business-to-business (b2b) collection needs. We take pride in obtaining payment on accounts receivables without fracturing critical business relationships or engaging in time-consuming and costly litigation efforts.
If you need business debt collection services conducted in a professional manner, contact our B2B (business-to-business) debt collection law firm by calling 312.454.2859 or visiting www.jayaramlaw.com.