In userhome.cfm:

$(document).ready(function() {
    //declare my tabs
    $('#mainTab > ul').tabs({ cache: true, ajaxOptions: {cache: false}});
});

html:

<div id="mainTab">
 <ul>
   <li><a href="userlist.cfm" title="tab1"><span>User List</span></a></li>
 </ul>
</div>

then in userlist.cfm:

$(document).ready(function() {
    $('#refreshList').click(function(){
	var selectedTab = $('#mainTab > ul').data('selected.ui-tabs');
	$('#mainTab > ul').tabs('load',selectedTab); //this should reload the tab contents but it doesn't work
	return false;
	});
});

The html link:

<a href="#" id="refreshList" title="Refresh List">Refresh User List</a>