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Judgments by confession in California

Judgments by confession in California are the topic of this blog post.  

Judgments by confession in California are authorized and governed by Code of Civil Procedure sections 1132 through 1134. The procedures for judgments by confession in California may only be used when no action has been commenced in court on the debt or obligation.

Judgments by confession in California are very advantageous in situations where no legal action has yet been filed and both parties agree that a sum of money is due from one party to the other and neither party wants to go through the time and expense of legal action.  Judgments by confession can be very powerful if used in the right situations because you can avoid the crowded court calendars in most if not all counties in California as a result of the budget crisis. 

Legal requirements for judgments by confession in California.

However there are very strict requirements that must be met in order to utilize the procedure of obtaining a judgment by confession in California. I will outline the requirements below.

The first requirement that must be met is that the defendant must sign a verified statement with detailed facts declaring that they agree to have judgment entered against them on an obligation due either for money due or to become due, or to secure any person against contingent liability on behalf of the defendant, or both, in the manner prescribed by this chapter.  See Code of Civil Procedure section 1133.

The second requirement that must be met is that an attorney who is independently representing the defendant signs a declaration that the attorney has examined the proposed judgment and has advised the defendant with respect to the waiver of rights and defenses under the confession of judgment procedure and has advised the defendant to utilize the confession of judgment procedure. The certificate shall be filed with the filing of the statement.  See Code of Civil Procedure section 1132(b).

Once the first two requirements are met, the verified statement and the attorney’s declaration must be filed with the Court along with a proposed judgment along with the filing fee which is currently $30.00. Assuming that all of the documents submitted are in order the clerk will then sign and enter the judgment.

Because the defendant must have voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waived the due-process rights of notice and an opportunity to be heard before a court can enter a judgment by confession. See Isbell v. County of Sonoma (1978) 21 Cal. 3d 61, 64. Accordingly, courts strictly construe the statutes authorizing judgments by confession.  See Efstratis v. First N. Bank (1997) 59 Cal.App.4th 667, 672.

Because of the extreme backlog currently being experienced in the California courts and the expense and delay inherent in going to trial, a confession of judgment should absolutely be considered in appropriate situations.

If you are a creditor any delays will only hurt you and will work to the benefit of any other creditors that may obtain a judgment against the defendant before you do. Your only other options are to file a complaint to initiate the litigation process and then wait months or even years to obtain a judgment, whether by stipulation or by trial.  The cost and delay of discovery and trial is completely eliminated with the confession of judgment procedure.

In many cases collection efforts are a race for a limited amount of funds in which numerous other creditors are seeking to attach the same assets. It is for this reason that having a confession of judgment is an extremely valuable tool.

Other creditors may find themselves six months to two years away from a judgment that someone holding a confession can have entered in a month or so. That allows writs of execution to be available before other creditors have finished the discovery phase of litigation.

A confession of judgment is also an excellent test for you to determine if the promises of the debtor to pay are truthful or not. If a debtor truly plans to abide by the payment plan proposed, he or she should have no problem agreeing to a confession of judgment. If all payments are made, it is never filed, never made public, and there is no harm to the debtor at all. 

Debtors will often the issue of the cost of obtaining independent counsel as their reason for not signing a confession of judgment. However the fact is that there are some hungry attorneys out there who will sign off for approximately five hundred dollars or so if the debtor will just check around. The filing fee for filing an answer with the Court will cost close to that. 

Attorneys or parties in California who would like to view a portion of a sample 7 page confession of judgment that includes brief instructions, a verified statement of defendant confessing judgment, an attorney’s declaration in support of verified statement confessing judgment, and an order of judgment on confession of judgment sold by the author can use the link shown below.

Sample Confession of Judgment for California by Stan Burman on Scribd

 

Attorneys or parties who would like to view portions of over 300 sample legal documents for California and Federal litigation sold by the author of this blog post can use the link shown below.

www.scribd.com/legaldocspro

The author of this blog post, Stan Burman, is a freelance paralegal who has worked in California and Federal litigation since 1995. For licensed attorneys and law firms that need assistance with any California or Federal litigation matters, Mr. Burman is available on a freelance basis. Mr. Burman may be contacted by e-mail at DivParalgl@yahoo.com for more information. He accepts payments through PayPal which means that you can pay using most credit or debit cards.

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DISCLAIMER:

Please note that the author of this blog post, Stan Burman is NOT an attorney and as such is unable to provide any specific legal advice. The author is NOT engaged in providing any legal, financial, or other professional services, and any information contained in this blog post is NOT intended to constitute legal advice.

The materials and information contained in this blog post have been prepared by Stan Burman for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. Transmission of the information contained in this blog post is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, any business relationship between the author and any readers. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.