If the Tennessee court did not have proper jurisdiction over the person of the Defendant or the subject matter of the case...the Tennessee judgment is  worthless and unenforceable. The procedure that you are proposing pre-supposes that the forum court had proper jurisdiction. If the small claims court is precluded by statute from trying a foreign Defendant (As is the case in Connecticut) or if the Defendant is not subject to the state's longarm statute and minimum contacts test, the resulting judgment is not worth the paper on which it is written.

Connecticut has a similar procedure for cases in which the foreign Defendant has filed an appearance in the case. If so, it is a simple matter as you say to have a verified copy of the judgment from the forum court filed in the court of the Defendant's native state. It then becomes enforceable in the other state.

If the Defendant has not filed an appearance in the case, and is defaulted for failure to appear..the resulting judgment needs to be presented to the court of the Defendant's native state differently. In this case a second suit  needs to be filed in the court of the defendant's native state...in which the court will examine the matter to determine if the forum court had jurisdiction over the subject matter and the person of the defendant.
If not, the Forum court's judgment is unenforceable in the Defendant's native state.

I have tried a number of these cases over the past 23 years. The easiest and least expensive way to go is to sue  the Defendant in his native state.

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