Best Companies to Vacate a Confession of Judgment — 2026

Top Companies for COJ Vacatur — 2026

Vacating a confession of judgment takes a very specific skill set — New York civil procedure, CPLR §3218, and MCA-specific case law. Your general business lawyer almost certainly doesn't have it. The firms below are ranked on one thing: their ability to handle COJ vacatur — emergency motions, procedural challenges, and the settlement negotiations that make the underlying debt go away.

What Is a Confession of Judgment — and How Did It End Up in Your MCA Agreement?

Here's what happened. When you signed the MCA agreement, buried somewhere in the fine print was a clause where you "confessed" to a judgment. What does that mean? It means you agreed in advance that if you defaulted, the lender could file a judgment against you in court — without suing you, without serving you papers, without giving you any chance to defend yourself. You waived your constitutional right to due process. Most business owners had no idea they were signing that.

The COJ gets filed with a county clerk — almost always in New York, no matter where your business is located — along with an affidavit from the lender claiming what you owe. Under CPLR §3218, the clerk enters the judgment, and it becomes immediately enforceable. Just like that. The lender can serve restraining notices on your bank, file executions to grab your funds, and garnish receivables — all before you even know a judgment exists.

The MCA industry made COJs their weapon of choice because of one thing: speed. A traditional lawsuit takes months. A COJ takes days. At the peak of COJ usage — before the 2019 reform — MCA lenders were filing thousands of COJs per year in New York county courts, steamrolling out-of-state business owners who had zero idea a judgment was being entered against them across the country.

Six Legal Grounds for Vacating a Confession of Judgment

A COJ is not a death sentence. Courts vacate them all the time — on multiple grounds. A good MCA defense attorney will find every applicable ground in your case. Here are the six that win the most cases:

Ground 1: Out-of-State Filing Ban (CPLR §3218). If your business is outside New York and the COJ was filed after August 30, 2019 — it's voidable. Full stop. The amended CPLR §3218 makes this a bright-line rule. No exceptions, no wiggle room. If the facts fit, the judgment gets vacated. Courts have enforced this consistently since the day the amendment took effect.

Ground 2: Defective Affidavit. CPLR §3218 demands that the COJ come with an affidavit "stating the facts out of which the debt arose" and that the amount is "justly due." Courts have tossed COJs where the affidavit was vague and conclusory, where the person who signed it had no actual knowledge of the default, or where it was signed by someone who wasn't an authorized officer of the lending company. These mistakes happen more than you'd think.

Ground 3: Improper Notarization. The COJ itself must be properly notarized. Expired notary commission? COJ thrown out. Notary wasn't present when the document was signed? Thrown out. Notarization missing entirely? Thrown out. MCA lenders crank out these documents at volume — and notarization errors are shockingly common.

Ground 4: Usury Defense. If the MCA gets reclassified as a loan — because it has fixed daily payments with no genuine reconciliation — then it falls under New York's usury laws. Under Gen. Oblig. Law §5-501, the criminal usury cap is 25%. Most MCAs carry effective APRs north of 100%. If the court says it's a loan, the contract is void from day one — and any judgment built on a void contract goes with it. The NY AG's $1 billion Yellowstone Capital settlement proved this works at scale.

Ground 5: Inflated Judgment Amount. MCA lenders love to pile on fees, penalties, and charges that have no basis in the agreement or in law. If the judgment amount is more than what's "justly due" under the contract — say it includes attorney fees that were never actually incurred — the COJ can be vacated or cut down to reflect the real number.

Ground 6: Fraud or Misrepresentation. If the lender lied about the terms, hid the COJ provision, or forged your signature — the COJ is voidable on fraud grounds. Courts take these claims seriously in the COJ context because you never had a chance to present defenses before the judgment was entered. That matters.

The Vacatur Process: Step by Step

Here's exactly how it works — step by step, no mystery:

Step 1: Emergency Consultation. Call an MCA defense firm like Delancey Street at (212) 210-1851. Have the judgment number, the court where it was filed, your MCA agreement, and any restraining notices or executions you've received. The attorney reviews everything and identifies the strongest grounds to get this thrown out.

Step 2: Draft the Order to Show Cause. Your attorney puts together the motion papers: (1) a motion to vacate under CPLR §5015, (2) an affidavit laying out the grounds for vacatur, (3) a request for a TRO to lift any bank freeze immediately, and (4) exhibits backing up every argument — the MCA agreement, the COJ, proof of out-of-state residence, usury calculations, all of it.

Step 3: Present the OSC to the Judge. Your attorney takes the Order to Show Cause directly to a judge for immediate review. If the judge sees enough merit, they sign it on the spot — and can include a TRO that lifts the account freeze right then and there. Return date gets set for 2–4 weeks out.

Step 4: Serve the Lender. The signed OSC gets served on the MCA lender and their attorney. They get notice of the motion and the return date, and they can file opposition papers before the hearing. This is where many lenders start to realize they're in trouble.

Step 5: The Vacatur Hearing. Both sides argue before the judge. If the court vacates the judgment — it's over. Restraining notices get lifted. Executions get reversed. The lender has to start from scratch with a traditional lawsuit if they want to keep pursuing the debt. That takes months and costs them a fortune.

Step 6: Settlement Negotiations. This is the moment. With the COJ gone, the lender's use is gutted. They're staring at expensive litigation with uncertain outcomes. Settlements of 30–60% of the balance are most achievable right here. Your attorney negotiates a deal that resolves the debt permanently — including UCC lien termination and full release of all claims.

State-by-State COJ Rules: Where You Stand

Every state handles COJs differently. Knowing where you stand — and where the COJ was filed (usually New York) — is critical to your defense.

New York: COJs are allowed for in-state defendants under CPLR §3218, but the 2019 amendment killed them for out-of-state defendants. This is ground zero for MCA COJ filings. Procedural requirements are strict, and courts have gotten increasingly hostile to COJ enforcement in the MCA context. Judges see right through it.

Pennsylvania: COJs are still permitted under Pa.R.C.P. 2950–2974. After New York's out-of-state ban, some lenders shifted their filings to Pennsylvania. But PA courts demand strict procedural compliance too, and vacatur motions are available under Pa.R.C.P. 2959.

States That Ban COJs: Many states have banned confessions of judgment outright — California, Texas, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Georgia, and plenty more. If you're in a ban state and a COJ was filed against you in New York after August 2019, it's voidable on multiple grounds. If a COJ was somehow filed in your home state despite a ban, it's void from the start.

Federal Level: The FTC banned confessions of judgment in consumer credit transactions years ago under the Credit Practices Rule (16 CFR §444.2). That rule technically covers consumer transactions only — but defense attorneys argue it reflects a strong public policy against COJs that should carry weight in the commercial context too. And judges are listening.

After Vacatur: What Happens Next

Getting the COJ vacated is a turning point — but it's not the finish line. Here's what comes next and how to use this moment to resolve the debt on your terms:

The lender has to decide: fight or fold. With the COJ gone, they've lost their shortcut. To keep coming after you, they have to file a traditional lawsuit, serve you properly, and slug it out through discovery, motions, and maybe trial. That takes 6–18 months and costs them $15,000–$50,000+ in legal fees. Most funders don't have the appetite for that. They settle.

Your use is at its peak right now. The window right after vacatur is when you have maximum negotiating power. The lender knows their COJ failed. They know litigation is expensive and uncertain. They know your attorney will hit them with usury defenses, challenge the contract terms, and push for reclassification of the MCA as a void loan. This is when settlements of 30–60% of the balance happen.

The FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule prohibits debt settlement companies from charging fees before delivering results. Any firm that wants money upfront for COJ vacatur or debt settlement is breaking federal law. Walk away. Legitimate firms charge 18–25% of enrolled debt, collected only after the settlement is done.

Top Companies for COJ Vacatur — 2026

Here are the three top-rated firms for business owners dealing with confessions of judgment from MCA lenders in 2026. Only one — Delancey Street — actually handles attorney-coordinated COJ vacatur with emergency motions. The other two cover broader categories of business debt.