I just shredded a bunch of paperwork from when I was working on my Bachelor’s degree at Roosevelt University. This included a bunch of promissory notes for their payment plan, and I was reminded of the clause had to “redline” (cross out & initial) every semester:
To secure payment of this note, I here by [sic] authorize, irrevocably, any attorney of any court to appear for me in such court, in term time or vacation, at any time after due date of the note, and confess a judgement, without process, in favor of the University, for such amount as may appear to be unpaid of this note, together with reasonable costs of collection, including reasonable attorneys fees, and to waive and release all errors which may intervene in any such proceedings, and consent to immediate execution upon such judgement, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney may do by virtue thereof, provided, however, any such judgement will not be made a lien against the principal resident of the maker.
Let’s summarize. I would have been agreeing to:
- Let Roosevelt take “me” to court to collect on my debts (fine).
- Let Roosevelt appoint an attorney to stand in for me.
- Let this attorney plead guilty and allow a judgement without a trial.
- To allow this attorney to absolve Roosevelt of any “errors” in this prosecution.
- To give my implicit approval of everything this attorney they appointed does on my behalf.
- To let them go after anything of mine except my house to fulfill the debt.
I just couldn’t agree to that in good conscience, and I don’t know how anyone else could either if they actually read it.
