Judge Lee S. Arian, Case Number: 19STCV29102, Date: 2024-03-14 Tentative Ruling

Judge: Lee S. Arian, Case: 19STCV29102, Date: 2024-03-14 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 19STCV29102 Hearing Date: March 14, 2024 Dept: 27

Complaint: 8/9/2019

Hon. Lee S. Arian¿¿

Department 27¿¿

Tentative Ruling¿

Hearing Date: 3/14/2024 at 1:30 p.m.¿¿¿

Case No./Name.: 19STCV29102 TERRY WEBB vs CITY OF LOS ANGELES

Motion Name: MOTION TO ENFORCE SETTLEMENT

Moving Party: Plaintiff

Responding Party: Defendant City of Los Angeles

Notice: Sufficient¿¿¿

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Ruling: PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO ENFORCE SETTLEMENT IS DENIED

Background

On August 19, 2019, Plaintiff filed the present trip and fall lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles. Plaintiff claims that a settlement was reached during mediation on July 19, 2023, for the amount of $750,000. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant is purposely delaying the settlement of this case by claiming that the settlement needs to be approved by the city council. Plaintiff now moves the Court to enforce the July 19, 2023 settlement agreement pursuant to CCP § 664.6. Plaintiff attached a copy of the purported settlement agreement to the motion. However, that agreement is signed only by Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s counsel. Defendant's signature is missing.

Motion to Enforce Settlement

CCP § 664.6 states: “If parties to pending litigation stipulate, in a writing signed by the parties outside the presence of the court or orally before the court, for settlement of the case, or part thereof, the court, upon motion, may enter judgment pursuant to the terms of the settlement. If requested by the parties, the court may retain jurisdiction over the parties to enforce the settlement until performance in full of the terms of the settlement.”¿

Strict compliance with the statutory requirements is necessary before a court can enforce a settlement agreement under this statute.¿ (Sully-Miller Contracting Co. v. Gledson/Cashman Construction, Inc. (2002) 103 Cal.App.4th 30, 37.)¿ To enforce a written settlement agreement under CCP section 664.6, the following three elements must be met: (1) the parties must have come to a meeting of the minds on all material points; (2) there must be a writing that contains the material terms of the agreement; and (3) the writing must be signed by the parties.¿ (Weddington Productions, Inc. v. Flick (1998) 60 Cal.App.4th 793, 797-98.)¿

CCP § 664.6 “require[s] the signatures of the parties seeking to enforce the agreement under [Code of Civil Procedure] section 664.6 and against whom the agreement is sought to be enforced.”¿ (J.B.B. Investment Partners, Ltd. v. Fair (2014) 232 Cal.App.4th 974, 985.)¿ CCP § 664.6’s “requirement of a ‘writing signed by the parties’ must be read to apply to all parties bringing the section 664.6 motion and against whom the motion is directed.”¿ (Harris v. Rudin, Richman & Appel (1999) 74 Cal.App.4th 299, 306; see Sully-Miller Contracting Co. v. Gledson/Cashman Const., Inc. (2002) 103 Cal.App.4th 30, 35-37 [“A written settlement agreement is not enforceable under section 664.6 unless it is signed by all of the parties to the agreement, not merely the parties against whom the agreement is sought to be enforced.”].)¿ “A procedure in which a settlement is evidenced by one writing signed by both sides minimizes the possibility of … dispute[s] and legitimizes the summary nature of the section 664.6 procedure.”¿ (Robertson v. Chen (1996) 44 Cal.App.4th 1290, 1293.)¿¿¿

Analysis and Conclusion

The Court examined the purported settlement agreement in question. It is signed only by Plaintiff and his counsel. Defendant’s signature is missing. “A written settlement agreement is not enforceable under section 664.6 unless it is signed by all of the parties to the agreement, not merely the parties against whom the agreement is sought to be enforced.” (Sully-Miller Contracting Co. v. Gledson/Cashman Construction, Inc. (2002) 103 Cal.App.4th 30, 37). Further, the purported agreement specifically states in it that it is conditioned upon approval by the city council. That is what defendant has indicated it is waiting for and is, in fact, pursuing. Plaintiff’s motion, at best, borders on frivolous and is hereby DENIED.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE:¿¿¿¿¿

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· If a party intends to submit on this tentative ruling,¿the party must send an email to the court at¿sscdept27@lacourt.org¿with the Subject line “SUBMIT” followed by the case number.¿ The body of the email must include the hearing date and time, counsel’s contact information, and the identity of the party submitting.¿¿¿¿¿¿¿

· Unless¿all¿parties submit by email to this tentative ruling, the parties should arrange to appear remotely (encouraged) or in person for oral argument.¿ You should assume that others may appear at the hearing to argue.¿¿¿¿¿¿¿

· If the parties neither submit nor appear at hearing, the Court may take the motion off calendar or adopt the tentative ruling as the order of the Court.¿ After the Court has issued a tentative ruling, the Court may prohibit the withdrawal of the subject motion without leave.¿¿¿¿¿¿