Opinion ID: 667153
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Pennsylvania Confession of Judgment Procedure

Text: 50 On the merits, we begin with an overview of the Pennsylvania practice on entry of and execution on judgments by confession. 51 Pennsylvania law authorizes a prothonotary 12 of any of its courts of common pleas to enter judgment by confession when a plaintiff files a complaint that includes an original or a verified copy of an instrument the defendant has signed authorizing judgment by confession, an averment of default under that instrument's terms, and an actual confession of judgment signed by any attorney acting for the defendant. Pa.R.Civ.P. 2951, 2952, 2955, 2956. After the prothonotary performs the ministerial act of entering judgment on confession, he is required immediately to notify the defendant he has done so. He must include with the notice a copy of the documents the plaintiff has filed in support of the confessed judgment. Pa.R.Civ.P. 236. In practice, the notice is usually sent the same day judgment is entered. 52 Once the prothonotary enters a confessed judgment, the plaintiff can secure a writ of execution by filing with the prothonotary a formal request on a form called a praecipe. In the praecipe, the plaintiff describes any property he believes the defendant may have an interest in, including bank accounts or deposits, in which latter case he names the depository bank as garnishee. Pa.R.Civ.P. 2958, 3103, 3101(b)(2), 3252. On filing the praecipe, the prothonotary issues a writ of execution forthwith, even if the praecipe is filed before notice of entry of the judgment has been mailed to the defendant. Pa.R.Civ.P. 2958. The writ of execution commands the sheriff, the officer who serves and enforces process for Pennsylvania's courts of common pleas, to seize any property of the defendant the plaintiff has described or, if a garnishee is named, to serve the writ upon the garnishee. Pa.R.Civ.P. 3103, 3108, 3111. Service of the writ on a garnishee attaches all of the defendant's property that the garnishee then or thereafter possesses. Pa.R.Civ.P. 3111(b). It restrains the garnishee from paying any sums to or on account of the defendant until further order of the court or termination of the attachment, subject to punishment for contempt. Pa.R.Civ.P. 3111(c), (d). The garnishee is required to promptly notify the debtor of the garnishment. Pa.R.Civ.P. 3140(a). 53 Pennsylvania's remedy for relief from a confessed judgment is a petition to strike and/or open the judgment. Pa.R.Civ.P. 2959. If the petition states prima facie grounds for relief, the court must issue a rule to show cause, fix a return date on the rule and thereafter dispose of the matter on petition and answer and any relevant evidence that can be obtained. Pa.R.Civ.P. 2959(b), (e); see Franklin Decorators, Inc. v. Kalson, 288 Pa.Super. 196, 431 A.2d 356, 356 (1981). 54 Any judgment, lien, or restraint on disposition of a defendant's property that results from entry of judgment, whether by confession or otherwise, is preserved while the proceedings to strike or open the judgment are pending. See FRG, Inc. v. Manley, 919 F.2d 850, 855 (3d Cir.1990) (citing Rochester Mach. Corp. v. Mulach Steel Corp., 287 Pa.Super. 270, 430 A.2d 280, 286-87 (1981), rev'd on other grounds, 498 Pa. 545, 449 A.2d 1366 (1982)). They are not affected by the filing of the petition or any rule to show cause issued pursuant to the petition absent an express stay of execution. During the course of any proceeding to strike or open a judgment, the court has no authority to dissolve the lien of the judgment on real estate or permit the defendant access to an attached bank account unless the defendant posts security adequate to assure the judgment's payment. Pa.R.Civ.P. 2959(f), 3143(b)(1). Whether to stay execution until the petition to strike or open the judgment is decided is a matter for the court's discretion. See Continental Bank v. Frank, 343 Pa.Super. 477, 495 A.2d 565, 567 (1985). 55 If the court refuses a discretionary stay of execution, a defendant may obtain one if he can secure a bond equal to the amount of the judgment plus probable interest and costs or make an equivalent cash deposit. Pa.R.Civ.P. 3121(b)(2), 3143(b)(1). Finally, a defendant may claim exemption from execution on a number of grounds or petition for a stay of execution on the basis of a defect in the writ, levy or service or on any other legal or equitable grounds. Pa.R.Civ.P. 3121(b). There is no express provision governing the procedure on these last requests for relief. 13 See Strick Corp. v. Thai Teak Prods. Co., Ltd., 493 F.Supp. 1210, 1217 & n. 12 (E.D.Pa.1980). Presumably, Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 440 which generally governs proceedings on petition and rule would apply. See Pa.R.Civ.P. 2959(d), 440. 56 An order granting a petition to open, as opposed to one striking the judgment, leaves the judgment itself undisturbed. See FRG, Inc., 919 F.2d at 855 (citing Rochester Machine Corp., 430 A.2d at 286-87). It merely requires the plaintiff to prove his case in the usual way while the defendant is free to assert and prove any defenses he may have. Though the judgment is opened, any lien it creates and any other restraint it imposes on the debtor's use of or access to its property is continuing until the case is finally determined against the plaintiff on its merits in accord with Pennsylvania's usual procedure for action in assumpsit on an express contract. See Pa.R.Civ.P. 2959(f), comment. 57 If a judgment is opened, entry of a stay pending trial remains discretionary. Pa.R.Civ.P. 2959(e); see Continental Bank, 495 A.2d at 567. An order striking the judgment does annul the lien or any execution issued on it, but a judgment can be stricken only for defects that appear on the face of the record. J.F. Realty Co. v. Yerkes, 263 Pa.Super. 436, 398 A.2d 215, 217 (1979); First Pennsylvania Bank N.A. v. Weber, 240 Pa.Super. 593, 360 A.2d 715, 717 (1976). 58 A defendant seeking to open or strike a judgment by confession must set forth all grounds for relief in a single petition, whether they are a basis for striking the judgment or opening it. Any grounds not included in the petition, whether to strike or to open, are waived. Pa.R.Civ.P. 2959(a), (c); see J.M. Korn & Son, Inc. v. Fleet-Air Corp., 300 Pa.Super. 458, 446 A.2d 945, 947 (1982). Many of the procedural details involved in a petition to open or strike are dependent on the local rules of the particular court of common pleas in which the petition is pending. Philadelphia's local rules give a plaintiff thirty days to respond to the petition to strike or open. See Phila. Local Rule 206.1. If the petition and answer show the parties do not dispute any issues of material fact, the court of common pleas can dispose of the matter without hearing or factfinding, although briefs and legal argument may be required either by specific order or general rule. If the petition and answer indicate there are disputed facts, the parties can take written or oral depositions relating to them. When the depositions are completed, the case is submitted and the court makes findings resolving the disputed issues of fact and then grants or denies relief by applying the law to the facts it has found. See Pa.R.Civ.P. 2959(e), 2960. 59 Absent a discretionary stay of execution, a plaintiff executing on a judgment by confession may seize property that has been attached twenty days after the date the prothonotary originally mailed notice of entry of the confessed judgment to the defendant. Seizure may take place upon the passage of twenty days even though a petition to open or strike the judgment is pending and even if the judgment has been opened. Pa.R.Civ.P. 2958(b); see Continental Bank, 495 A.2d at 569. Moreover, if a garnishee pays funds that were attached to the plaintiff in an amount sufficient to satisfy the judgment before a petition to open or strike is decided, the petition to open or strike may become moot and, if so, the court must dismiss it. Cf., e.g., Holzapfel v. Mahony, 367 Pa.Super. 93, 532 A.2d 469 (1987) (trial court erred in granting motion to reopen confessed judgment after writ of execution had enforced judgment and real estate had been sold); Continental Bank, 495 A.2d at 568 (trial court did not err in refusing to grant motion to open confessed judgment where mortgaged property had been sold pursuant to sheriff's sale and opening of judgment would not affect third party's right to premises).