Opinion ID: 667153
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Execution and Attachment Proceedings

Text: 69 Jordan Mitchell, Inc. does not rely, however, on just the entry of the judgment. It alleges in the Fox Rothschild case and, we think, shows in the Berman case that the acts of the sheriff which the Bermans and their Attorneys set in motion denied it the use of the funds in its bank account and did involve a deprivation of property under compulsion of law. Therefore, we must also consider the proceedings for execution and the weakness of Pennsylvania's procedures for post-judgment relief. 70 After holding that the entry of the confessed judgment was not unconstitutional on the facts of this case, the district court went on to decide that execution on the judgment was. Explaining that execution did involve the invocation of state action by private persons acting under color of law, the district court applied the due process requirements of notice and hearing to Pennsylvania's post-judgment procedures and held a private person or his private attorney could be liable to a debtor as a state actor under section 1983 as Lugar construes it. See Berman I, 758 F.Supp. at 278-80. 71 As we have discussed above, under Lugar, 457 U.S. at 937, 102 S.Ct. at 2753-54, a complaint must include facts from which it can be deduced that a constitutional deprivation resulted from the exercise of some right or privilege created by the state and that the private party charged with the deprivation is one who can be fairly considered a state actor who has invoked the force of law. In Lugar, the Supreme Court stated that private use of the challenged state procedures with the help of state officials constitutes state action for purposes of the Fourteenth Amendment. Id. at 933, 102 S.Ct. at 2751. Moreover, a private party acts under color of law where the individual act[s] together with or has obtained significant aid from state officials. Id. at 937, 102 S.Ct. at 2754. 72 It is at once clear that Jordan Mitchell, Inc. has alleged in one case and shown in the other that the acts the Bermans and their Attorneys caused the sheriff to do meets the first requirement of the Lugar test. When the sheriff, on the direct request of Fox Rothschild, themselves acting, in turn, on instruction from the Bermans, served the writ garnishing Jordan Mitchell's checking account at Fidelity, they caused the state forcibly to deprive Jordan Mitchell, Inc. of its property without the pre-deprivation notice and hearing due process requires. We think their role in this process also satisfies Lugar 's and section 1983's requirement that a private party accused of violating the plaintiff's constitutional rights must so act that he can be fairly considered to act under color of law. The deprivation about which Jordan Mitchell, Inc. now complains was accomplished through use of the state's attachment and garnishment procedures and restrained the garnishee from acting under penalty of law. 73 Unlike the procedure for entry of a judgment by confession, writs of execution and attachment involve actions by state officials that plainly involve or threaten the use of legal force. The district court so decided. We agree and hold that a judgment creditor who uses Pennsylvania's procedure for executing on a confessed judgment acts under color of law and becomes a state actor under Lugar. 74 The Attorneys argue, however, that they cannot be treated as persons acting under color of law because they were officers of the court representing their clients. The district court rejected this argument. It held it was not the Attorneys' role as officers of the court which made them state actors for purposes of section 1983 but rather their act, under color of law, in invoking Pennsylvania's procedures for attachment and seizure of Jordan Mitchell, Inc.'s property. See Fox Rothschild I, 787 F.Supp. at 475-76. The district court explained: 75 The principle that a private attorney does not become a state actor by virtue of being an officer of the court is not applicable to an attorney who invokes a state attachment procedure to seize property on behalf of a client. An attorney in these circumstances may be liable under Sec. 1983. In such situations, the attorney acts in a capacity wholly distinct from any duty owed to the court. 76 Id. at 475-76 (citations omitted). We agree again with the district court that a private individual who enlists the compulsive powers of the state to seize property by executing on a judgment without pre-deprivation notice or hearing acts under color of law and so may be held liable under section 1983 if his acts cause a state official to use the state's power of legal compulsion to deprive another of property. 77 The district court correctly concluded the Attorneys' use of the Pennsylvania garnishment procedure and the Bermans' instructions to them to do so made both of them state actors for purposes of section 1983. See Fox Rothschild I, 787 F.Supp. at 477 (Consistent with Lugar, private attorneys, acting on their client's behalf, who invoke the machinery of the state to effect an ex parte seizure of property can be found to be state actors under Sec. 1983.); see also Berman II, 792 F.Supp. at 390, 392-93; Berman I, 758 F.Supp. at 278. 78 As we have said, the district court then went on to dismiss both of Jordan Mitchell, Inc.'s section 1983 claims on the basis of qualified immunity. Before addressing any qualified immunity or good faith defense the Bermans or their Attorneys may have because of their reliance on the longstanding routine use of execution of judgments by confession in Pennsylvania, we think it is appropriate to discuss the possibility that Jordan Mitchell, Inc. waived its due process rights by signing the Amendment that agreed to the terms of the original Form 60 Lease which in paragraph 11(e) says the Bermans or H.P., as landlord, can confess judgment against a tenant.IX. Due Process and Waiver 79 Jordan Mitchell, Inc. does not contend that Pennsylvania's procedure for confession of judgment is facially unconstitutional, i.e., always unconstitutional without regard to the circumstances under which it is used. It does argue, however, that the constitutionality of Pennsylvania's procedure for entering a confessed judgment and executing on it cannot be considered abstractly but must be looked at together with the post-judgment procedure for execution on it. In that context, Jordan Mitchell, Inc. recognizes that the validity of any particular confessed judgment depends on all the facts surrounding its authorization by the debtor, its entry by the creditor, and the post-judgment procedure governing execution on it. 18 80 A. The Supreme Court's Decision in Swarb v. Lennox 81 In relying on the United States Supreme Court's opinion in Swarb v. Lennox, 405 U.S. 191, 92 S.Ct. 767, 31 L.Ed.2d 138 (1972), the district court also concluded that Pennsylvania's procedure for entry of a confessed judgment is not in and of itself unconstitutional on a rationale alternate to the one Lugar supplies. It reasoned: 82 If the Supreme Court believed that a judgment could not constitutionally be confessed without a prior hearing on the validity of the debtor's waiver of rights, it likely would not have rejected a per se challenge in Swarb to Pennsylvania procedures which permit creditors to do just that. State procedure allows a debtor to open or strike a confessed judgment on this ground and plaintiffs here moved to do so in the pending state court action. See Pa.R.Civ.P. 2959. 83 Fox Rothschild II, 792 F.Supp. at 396 (footnote omitted) (emphasis in original). 19 In Swarb, a group of plaintiffs brought a section 1983 class action claiming Pennsylvania's practice of permitting judgment by confession was facially unconstitutional because it always deprived debtors who signed documents containing a power to confess judgment of their procedural due process right to pre-deprivation 20 notice and hearing. In Swarb, the class plaintiffs also had to meet the contention that a debtor's execution of a written agreement containing a cognovit clause was a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver of the constitutional right to due process. Swarb, 405 U.S. at 196, 92 S.Ct. at 770. 84 A three-judge district court agreed with the plaintiff class, but only in part. 21 It held that a debtor's constitutional right to pre-deprivation notice and hearing could be waived if it appeared the debtor who had signed a document containing a warrant of attorney to confess judgment did so voluntarily, knowing that he or she was waiving a constitutional right to pre-judgment notice and hearing and understood the consequences of that waiver. Id. at 198-99, 92 S.Ct. at 771-72. The three-judge district court treated the waiver issue as an issue of fact about the debtor's subjective state of mind. 22 It went on to conclude that Pennsylvania's practice of allowing judgment by confession could not be constitutionally applied to a subclass of consumer debtors who had income of less than $10,000.00. It reasoned the members of that class were all parties to adhesive contracts and had no real understanding of the importance of the rights they were waiving or the consequences of their waiver. Id. at 199, 92 S.Ct. at 771-72. 85 The defendants in Swarb chose not to appeal, but the class, dissatisfied with the district court's limitation of relief to the subclass of low income consumer debtors, sought further help in the Supreme Court. 23 Id. at 200, 92 S.Ct. at 772. There, they argued the district court erred in limiting relief to a subclass of low-income consumer debtors rather than extending it to all Pennsylvania debtors who had signed documents allowing judgments to be confessed against them. This argument did imply that Pennsylvania's rules concerning judgments by confession were invariably, that is, facially unconstitutional. It was rejected by the Supreme Court when it denied Swarb 's plaintiff class any further relief and affirmed the district court's order. Id. 86 In doing so, the Supreme Court specifically said: 87 This affirmance, however, does not mean that the District Court's opinion and judgment are approved as to their other aspects and details that are not before us. As has been noted, the named defendants and the intervenors have taken no cross appeal.... In the absence of a cross appeal, the opposition is in no position to attack those portions of the District Court's judgment that are favorable to the plaintiff-appellants. 24 88 Id. at 201, 92 S.Ct. at 772 (footnote added). Thus, the Supreme Court has yet to take a position on whether Pennsylvania's procedure for the entry of a confessed judgment deprives low-income families or any other class of persons who has given a creditor a power to confess judgment of their constitutional right to procedural due process. 89 In Swarb, the Supreme Court referred to its decision of even date in the companion case of D.H. Overmyer Co., Inc. v. Frick Co., 405 U.S. 174, 92 S.Ct. 775, 31 L.Ed.2d 124 (1972). There, the Supreme Court held a debtor could waive his due process rights to pre-deprivation notice and hearing by executing a note containing a cognovit provision or a warrant to confess judgment. 90 In Overmyer, the Supreme Court was considering Ohio's confession of judgment procedure as it applied to a promissory note Overmyer had signed in favor of Frick. This note was given in consideration of Frick's granting Overmyer's request for additional time to pay a pre-existing note that did not have a warrant authorizing entry of judgment by confession. Overmyer, 405 U.S. at 180, 92 S.Ct. at 779-80. The Supreme Court held Overmyer's constitutional right to due process was not violated when judgment was confessed against him on the new note without prior notice or hearing, id. at 187, 92 S.Ct. at 783, because due process rights to notice and hearing prior to a civil judgment are subject to waiver. Id. at 185, 92 S.Ct. at 782. 91 B. The Process Due on Entry and Execution on Judgments by Confession 92 After carefully reviewing Swarb and Overmyer, we think the district court correctly held that Pennsylvania's practice in allowing the entry of judgments by confession is not unconstitutional. See FRG, Inc. v. Manley, 919 F.2d 850, 856-57 (3d Cir.1990) (overruling bankruptcy court decision in In re Souders, 75 B.R. 427 (Bankr.E.D.Pa.1987) that Pennsylvania confession of judgment procedure was facially unconstitutional). 93 The district court went on to hold, however, [b]ecause the Pennsylvania garnishment procedure in question does not provide for a discretionary review and approval by a professionally competent official, and because it does not guarantee a prompt postseizure adjudication of a debtor's protest, the procedure fails to comport with due process of law. Berman I, 758 F.Supp. at 280 (footnote omitted). In so holding it implicitly relied on cases holding pre-judgment attachments or seizures are unconstitutional absent either pre-seizure or prompt post-seizure notice and hearing. See, e.g., North Georgia Finishing Inc. v. Di-Chem, Inc., 419 U.S. 601, 606, 95 S.Ct. 719, 722, 42 L.Ed.2d 751 (1975) (Georgia statute allowing court clerk to issue writ of garnishment against bank account without notice, opportunity for early hearing or participation by judicial officer held unconstitutional); Mitchell v. W.T. Grant Co., 416 U.S. 600, 605-07, 94 S.Ct. 1895, 1899-1900, 40 L.Ed.2d 406 (1974) (Louisiana sequestration statute which required judicial approval, verified petition or affidavit and bond and entitled debtor to seek immediate dissolution of writ or to regain possession of goods purchased under installment contract by filing his own bond did not violate due process); Jonnet v. Dollar Sav. Bank, 530 F.2d 1123, 1129-30 (3d Cir.1976) (Pennsylvania foreign attachment procedures which required only praecipe specifying property to be seized, no official review, no indemnification for damages for wrongfully seized property and no opportunity for immediate hearing held unconstitutional). 94 We think the district court's general exposition of the procedural protections that due process requires, absent waiver, before garnishment or attachment can constitutionally take place is correct. It said: 95 First, to obtain a writ of garnishment or attachment the creditor must present a sworn document setting forth in non-conclusory terms the basis for his claim. Second, the issuance of the writ should be conditioned on a review 25 and an approval by an official invested with the requisite discretion.... Finally, there must be an opportunity for a prompt post-seizure hearing at which the creditor must demonstrate at least the probable validity of his claim. 96 Berman I, 758 F.Supp. at 279-80 (citations omitted and footnote added). We agree with the district court that procedural rules which included these protections could largely avoid the problems the parties to this case face and, at the same time, preserve the legitimate aspects of a creditor's remedy that has shown its commercial utility from colonial times to the present. 26 Because Pennsylvania permits writs of execution to be enforced on confessed judgments without providing any means for securing a pre-deprivation hearing or obtaining prompt post-seizure relief, the district court correctly concluded the acts of the Bermans and their Attorneys, absent pre-judgment waiver, deprived Jordan Mitchell, Inc. of due process once they culminated in the sheriff's seizure of Jordan Mitchell, Inc.'s bank account. 97 This conclusion is in accord with our decision in Finberg v. Sullivan, 634 F.2d 50 (3d Cir.1980) (in banc). There, this Court addressed the constitutionality of Pennsylvania's post-judgment garnishment procedures as they were applied to execution on a default judgment. We reviewed the Supreme Court's then recent decisions on pre-judgment seizures, adopted their rationale and concluded they controlled the due process issue then before us. Id. at 56-58. We expressly decided Pennsylvania's post-judgment garnishment rules did not provide the prompt post-seizure hearing due process requires. Id. at 61. 98 Here, the district court adopted a similar analysis in holding Pennsylvania's garnishment procedure was unconstitutional as applied to execution on judgments obtained by confession because it did not provide a prompt post-seizure hearing. On appeal the Bermans and Fox Rothschild say their cases are distinguishable from Finberg on several grounds. They argue the district court erroneously extended Finberg from default judgments to writs of execution issued to enforce confessed judgments. They point out that Finberg was a relatively unsophisticated individual, whereas this case concerns seizure of the property of a business corporation leasing commercial office space. They also point out that the funds garnished in Finberg were arguably exempt from attachment because they were necessary to meet the basic needs of the individual. 99 We are not so sure that Finberg can be read in the limited way the Bermans and Fox Rothschild would have us read it. There we stated while notice and an opportunity to be heard before an attachment are not absolutely necessary.... [a] procedural protection [to be] adequate [should] represent[ ] a fair accommodation of the respective interests of creditor and debtor. Id. at 58. Indeed, it could be argued that Finberg, in which a debtor had ignored pre-seizure process, should apply a fortiori to a debtor who is served with no process at all before its property is seized. We do not need to decide, however, whether an analogy from the procedure on default judgments we considered in Finberg to post-judgment procedure on confessed judgments is an apt one. Instead, we think the district court should have considered whether Jordan Mitchell, Inc. validly waived its due process right to pre-deprivation notice and hearing after when it signed the Amendment incorporating the Lease with the warrant to confess judgment that Joe J. Jordan, FAIA, P.C. had signed after consulting counsel. 27 C. Waiver 100 Swarb and Overmyer plainly decide a debtor can waive its due process rights to a pre-deprivation hearing and notice when it voluntarily and intelligently consents to an agreement containing a cognovit clause. Nevertheless, Swarb and Overmyer also indicate waiver is usually a question of fact. Thus, in Overmyer, the Supreme Court cautioned creditors: 101 Our holding, of course, is not controlling precedent for other facts of other cases. For example, where the contract is one of adhesion, where there is great disparity in bargaining power, and where the debtor receives nothing for the cognovit provision, other legal consequences may ensue. 102 Overmyer, 405 U.S. at 188, 92 S.Ct. at 783. The constitutional validity of any particular confession of judgment procedure depends on the validity of the debtor's waiver: 103 The Pennsylvania system leading to confessed judgment and execution does comply with due process standards provided there has been an understanding and voluntary consent of the debtor in signing the document. 104 If, however, there is no such understanding consent, the procedure violates due process requirements of notice and an opportunity be heard. 105 Swarb, 405 U.S. at 198, 92 S.Ct. at 771 (citations, quotation and paragraph numerals omitted). 106 Accordingly, a court faced with a due process challenge to a confessed judgment should always inquire whether the judgment debtor's execution of a document permitting judgment by confession is a valid waiver of his constitutional right to pre-deprivation notice and hearing. See, e.g., Overmyer, 405 U.S. at 185-187, 92 S.Ct. at 782-83; FRG, Inc., 919 F.2d at 856-57. 107 Swarb and Souders make it clear that a judgment against a reasonably sophisticated, corporate debtor who has signed an instrument containing a document permitting judgment by confession as part of a commercial transaction is enforceable in the same manner as any other judgment. Other judgments entered by confession may or may not be enforceable depending on all the facts surrounding the execution of the instrument. 108 Thus, we now consider whether the facts set forth in Jordan Mitchell, Inc.'s complaint against Fox Rothschild would, if proven, establish that Jordan Mitchell, Inc. did not knowingly waive its due process right to pre-judgment notice and hearing and whether, in the case against them, the Bermans have shown there is no genuine dispute about any material fact whose resolution adverse to them would negate waiver. In deciding these questions, we reemphasize the need to give Jordan Mitchell, Inc. the advantage of every inference that can be drawn from the allegations of its complaint against Fox Rothschild and, as to the Bermans, from the evidence before the district court when it granted the Bermans' Rule 56 motion for summary judgment. 109 Though the Supreme Court's opinion in Overmyer emphasized the importance the facts of an individual case have in determining whether a facially valid confession of judgment procedure can be constitutionally applied to any particular case, it refused to define a standard for determining when the right to pre-deprivation procedural due process is waived in connection with execution on a confessed judgment. In Overmyer, the court assumed, without deciding, that waiver would be judged under the same standards that apply to a criminal defendant's waiver of constitutional rights. Overmyer, 405 U.S. at 185, 92 S.Ct. at 782. On that assumption, it considered whether Overmyer's consent to judgment by confession was voluntary, knowing, and intelligently made.... Id. at 185, 92 S.Ct. at 782 (citing Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 748, 90 S.Ct. 1463, 1468-69, 25 L.Ed.2d 747 (1970); Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 1612, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966)). 110 In deciding Overmyer had waived his due process right to prejudgment notice and hearing under that standard, the Supreme Court emphasized that no great inequality of bargaining power seemed to be present because one corporation was there dealing with another. Id. at 186, 92 S.Ct. at 782-83. It also pointed out that Overmyer did not contend either it or its counsel had failed to understand the significance of the provision for judgment by confession in the note it signed. Id. In addition, it referred to the fact that both parties were represented by counsel during negotiations for an extension of time to pay an earlier note on which Overmyer was in default, and the new note, with its clause allowing judgment by confession, resulted from these negotiations, id. at 183, 92 S.Ct. at 781, in which inclusion of the clause permitting Frick to enter a confessed judgment was specifically agreed on. Id. Finally, the Supreme Court noted the extension was not the only fresh consideration for inclusion of the power to enter judgment by confession. Frick had also released three mechanic's liens it held on Overmyer's property and agreed to a reduction both in the monthly payments due on the note and the interest rate. Id. at 183, 186, 92 S.Ct. at 781, 782-83. On these facts, the Supreme Court concluded that Overmyer had voluntarily, intelligently, and knowingly waived the [due process] rights it otherwise possessed to prejudgment notice and hearing, ... with full awareness of the legal consequences [of its actions]. Id. at 187, 92 S.Ct. at 783. 111 The Supreme Court stated specifically, however, that its decision in Overmyer was not controlling precedent for other facts of other cases. Id. at 188, 92 S.Ct. at 783. Thus, whether a debtor has effectively waived its right to pre-seizure notice and hearing may not often be subject to quick resolution on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. We think that is the case here. We also believe the record before the district court on the Bermans' motion for summary judgment does not eliminate all questions of fact concerning waiver. 112 Whether a person has waived his constitutional rights is a question of federal law. Brookhart v. Janis, 384 U.S. 1, 4, 86 S.Ct. 1245, 1246, 16 L.Ed.2d 314 (1966) ([W]aiver of a federally guaranteed constitutional right is, of course, a federal question controlled by federal law. There is a presumption against the waiver of constitutional rights and for a waiver to be effective it must be clearly established that there was 'an intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known right or privilege.' ) (citation omitted). As we have explained, the exact federal standard governing a valid waiver in the context of confession of judgments has never been fully articulated. 113 Nevertheless, to establish waiver, we do not think it is necessary for the Bermans or Fox Rothschild to show that Jordan Mitchell, Inc. knew all the intricacies and arcane details of the writs Pennsylvania courts use to enforce judgments. Instead, a reasonably well informed debtor need only be aware that he has given away an important right to notice and hearing before his creditor, acting under color of law, can enlist the state's power of legal compulsion to seize the debtor's property in order to satisfy or secure its debt. We think, rather, the debtor need only know that if he does not comply with the terms he has agreed to for payment of the debt, the creditor may confess judgment against him and forthwith seize his property to satisfy the debt it says is owed. 114 We also think it is sometimes proper to infer that a person who retains a lawyer and then executes an instrument which gives its landlord power to confess judgment for rent in arrears has knowingly authorized the landlord to resort to standard post-judgment procedures for the collection of money judgments once judgment has been confessed and so has waived its right to pre-deprivation notice and hearing. 115 The clause in the standard form lease before us which permits judgment by confession states: 116 If the rent, fixed, and/or additional, shall remain unpaid on any day when the same ought to be paid, Lessee hereby empowers any attorney ... to appear as attorney for Lessee in any and all actions which may be brought for said arrears of rent, fixed and/or additional and to sign for Lessee an agreement for entering in any competent Court, an amicable action or actions for the recovery of all arrears of rent, fixed and/or additional, and in said suits or in said amicable action or actions to confess judgment against Lessee for the recovery of all arrears of rent, fixed and/or additional, as aforesaid, and for interest and costs.... 117 App. at 59 (emphasis added). It clearly says the Bermans, after confessing judgment for rent in arrears, can cause the property of their Tenant to be seized and sold to satisfy the rent claimed due. 118 This record also shows, however, that it was Joe J. Jordan, FAIA, P.C. who signed the document which contains the text of the warrant to confess judgment that the Bermans and their Attorneys relied on to obtain the disputed judgment and then execute on it. Whether Jordan Mitchell, Inc., as a successor to Joe J. Jordan, FAIA, P.C. was bound by the form lease and, if so, whether either was aware of its significance are matters that have not yet been determined. We think the following facts are material to that determination. 119 Jordan Mitchell, Inc.'s predecessor, Joe J. Jordan, FAIA, P.C., was not represented by counsel at the time it signed the Form 60 Lease containing the confession of judgment clause. On the other hand, Jordan Mitchell, Inc. was represented when it agreed to the Amendment extending the term of the Lease which we assume, for purposes of this opinion, incorporates the terms of the document its predecessor Joe J. Jordan, FAIA, P.C. had signed. 28 In addition, both Joe J. Jordan, FAIA, P.C. and Jordan Mitchell, Inc. operate in corporate form and the Lease in question is a lease for a commercial office. 120 If the confession of judgment clause and its attendant consequences was brought to the attention of Jordan Mitchell, Inc. when it signed the Amendment extending the Lease, an inference of waiver would be strongly supported. At this stage, however, waiver does not conclusively appear. Whether Jordan Mitchell, Inc. waived its due process right to pre-deprivation notice and hearing when it signed the Amendment which is said to incorporate the warrant to confess judgment clause set forth in paragraph 11(e) of the initial Form 60 Lease is a matter for further consideration on remand. 121 Though we think a debtor need not have detailed technical knowledge of the state law on confession in order to waive its due process rights, it also seems to us that a creditor's failure to comply with all of the state's technical rules concerning judgment by confession is not usually material to the issue of knowing and intelligent waiver. Otherwise, a failure to comply with state law would automatically translate into a section 1983 claim. Nevertheless, the state requirements may sometimes be of limited relevance on the federal claim. 29 In Pennsylvania, a warrant to confess judgment must be in writing and signed by the party against whom it is enforced. Moreover: 122 Pennsylvania will not presume an intent of parties to a modified contract to perpetuate a warrant of attorney. Solazo v. Boyle, 365 Pa. 586, 76 A.2d 179 (1950). Nor will a lease's cognovit clause be binding upon the lessee's assignee. Ahern v. Standard Realty Co., 267 Pa. 404, 110 A. 141 (1920). And a warrant of attorney on the second page of a document will not be conclusive against the signer of the first page. Frantz Tractor Co. v. Wyoming Valley Nursery, 384 Pa. 213, 120 A.2d 303 (1956). 123 Scott v. 1523 Walnut Corp., 301 Pa.Super. 248, 447 A.2d 951, 956 (1982) (internal quotations omitted). The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has also stated: 124 a warrant of attorney to confess judgment must be self-sustaining; to be self-sustaining, the warrant must be in writing and signed by the person to be bound by it; and the requisite signature must bear a direct relation to the warrant and may not be implied extrinsically nor imputed from assignment of the instrument containing the warrant. 125 Frantz Tractor Co., Inc. v. Wyoming Valley Nursery, 384 Pa. 213, 120 A.2d 303, 306-07 (1956). Thus, while a cognovit provision may appear in the body of a contract, [t]he mere physical inclusion of the warrant of attorney in a mass of fine type verbiage on each reverse sheet does not of itself make it part of the contract. Cutler Corp. v. Latshaw, 374 Pa. 1, 97 A.2d 234, 236 (1953). We think these requirements are meant to give some assurance that those who may suffer a judgment obtained by confession are made aware of that possibility. Through them, Pennsylvania seeks to insure a reasonable debtor's objective understanding of his or her creditor's intent to enforce the debtor's obligations by confessed judgment. 126 Pennsylvania law also makes it clear that an assignment of a lease does not bind an assignee to a confession of judgment provision in the leasehold that is assigned. See Scott, 447 A.2d at 956; Frantz Tractor Co., 120 A.2d at 305 (An assignment of a lease binds the assignee with all the terms and conditions thereof except a provision for a warrant of attorney to confess judgment against the lessee; and, this is so even where the assignee formally agrees with the lessor to an assignment of a lease by endorsing thereon that he, the assignee, accepts it 'according to its full tenor and effect.' ). Jordan Mitchell was not a party to the original Lease. It was between H.P. and Joe J. Jordan, FAIA, P.C. Jordan Mitchell, Inc. seems to be a successor to the original lessor, not an unrelated assignee. The record does not indicate there was an actual assignment of the lease. In any event, it seems questionable, as a matter of Pennsylvania law, that Jordan Mitchell, Inc., the original lessee's successor, could be bound by a confession of judgment clause found only in the text of a document signed by its predecessor. 127 Pennsylvania law also indicates a confession of judgment clause contained in one document will not become a part of another document that incorporates the terms of the document setting out the power to confess judgment by general reference. See Egyptian Sands Real Estate, Inc., v. Polony, 222 Pa.Super. 315, 294 A.2d 799, 803-04 (1972); Frantz Tractor Co., 120 A.2d at 305. Under federal law, on the other hand, it seems a creditor or attorney relying on waiver must show only that the debtor understood it could be deprived of the use of its property during an extended period without pre-deprivation notice of hearing. Accordingly, though none of these state cases may completely control, either on waiver or good faith, the parties' knowledge of them may be relevant on both. 128 In any event, we think the district court will need to remember all these things when it considers waiver on remand.