American United Family of Credit Unions v. Murray
American United Family of Credit Unions v. Murray, 2022 UT App 105 (Tenney, J.)
Civil Procedures/Attorney Fees
After a consumer failed to pay his loans to a bank, the consumer and the bank entered into a Confession of Judgment, where the consumer agreed to pay the bank about $74,000 “together with interest accruing on the Judgment Amount” by a certain time. The consumer did not make the payments. Years later, the consumer moved to set aside the judgment because it was void. The district court denied the motion. The court then partially granted the bank’s motion to augment the Confession of Judgment with attorney fees spent in collecting the judgment. The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed, holding:
- Even if the Confession of Judgment did not comply with Utah R. Civ. P. 58A(f) because it did not include the interest rates for the loans, that did not render the judgment void under Utah R. Civ. P. 60(b). The lack of interest rates did not cause the court to lose jurisdiction or deprive the consumer of notice.
- The consumer had actual notice of the Confession of Judgment because he signed a stipulation to that confession; if he believed the confession was legally prohibited, he could have declined to sign it.
- The bank’s motion to augment the judgment with attorney fees needed to be made “within a reasonable time after the fees were incurred.” Of note, on appeal the consumer did not challenge the district court’s determination that a “reasonable time” was two years.