County of Los Angeles v. Soto

I concur with the majority opinion to the extent that it reverses the order vacating the 1978 judgment of paternity. I respectfully dissent, however, from the majority’s holding that defendant may collaterally attack that judgment. In my view, we should conclusively presume the validity of the 1978 judgment.

A cognovit clause, or confession of judgment, is a device by which a debtor consents in advance to a judgment entered without notice and a hearing. (D. H. Overmyer Co. v. Frick Co. (1972) 405 U.S. 174, 176 [31 L.Ed.2d 124, 128, 92 S.Ct. 775].) While the United States Supreme Court has…