Judge Mark E. Windham, Case 19STLC08967 2022-08-31 Tentative Ruling

If you desire to submit on the tentative ruling, you may do so by e-mailing Dept. 26 at the Spring Street Courthouse until the morning of the motion hearing.

The e-mail address is SSCdept26@lacourt.org

The heading on your e-mail should contain the case name, number, hearing date, and that you submit. The message should indicate your name, contact information, and the party you represent. Please note, the above e-mail address is to inform the court of your submission on the tentative ruling. All other inquiries will not receive a response.

If there are no appearances by either side and no submission on the Court's tentative ruling, the matter will be placed OFF CALENDAR.

Due to overcrowding concerns of COVID-19, all parties shall make every effort to schedule a remote appearance via LACourtConnect (https://my.lacourt.org/laccwelcome) for their next hearing. The parties shall register with LACourtConnect at least 2 hours prior to their scheduled hearing time.

PROCEEDINGS: MOTION TO ENFORCE SETTLEMENT AND LIFT STAY OF EXECUTION [CCP § 664.6]

Motion of Plaintiff Petra Ogner, Trustee of the Irving D. Ogner Trust, to Enforce Settlement Agreement and Lift Stay of Execution is GRANTED. THE STAY OF EXECUTION ON THE JUDGMENT IS HEREBY LIFTED.

RELIEF REQUESTED: Plaintiff moves for an order enforcing the terms of the parties’ settlement agreement by lifting the stay of execution on the judgment.

Plaintiff Petra Ogner, Trustee of the Irving D. Ogner Trust (“Plaintiff”) filed the instant action for breach of lease agreement against Defendants Todd Bernstein and Stayce Bernstein (“Defendants”) on September 30, 2019. On January 25, 2022, the parties appeared and represented that a stipulated settlement would be filed. (Minute Order, 01/25/22.) The judgment was filed and entered on February 7, 2022.

Plaintiff filed the instant Motion to Enforce Settlement and Lift Stay of Execution on April 12, 2022. No opposition has been filed to date.

The Motion to Enforce Settlement is brought under Code of Civil Procedure, section 664.6, which states in relevant part:

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.

(Code Civ. Proc., § 664.6.) Prior to January 1, 2021, “parties” under section 664.6 meant the litigants themselves, not their attorneys. (Levy v. Superior Court (1995) 10 Cal.4th 578, 586 (holding “we conclude that the term ‘parties’ as used in section 664.6 means the litigants themselves, and does not include their attorneys of record.”).) Additionally, the settlement must have included the signatures of the parties seeking to enforce the agreement, and against whom enforcement is sought. (J.B.B. Investment Partners, Ltd. v. Fair (2014) 232 Cal.App.4th 974, 985.)

The settlement agreement here complies with the statutory requirements set forth above because it was signed by the parties or their attorneys. (Motion, Frish Decl., Exh. 1, pp. 3-4.) Therefore, the Court finds that the parties’ settlement agreement is enforceable under Code of Civil Procedure section 664.6.

The settlement agreement provides that judgment would be entered in the amount of $18,735.00 principal, $21,595.48 attorney’s fees and $2,169.52 costs, with execution stayed to allow Defendants to make installment payments. (Id. at Exh. 1 at ¶¶H-I.) Upon breach of the settlement, Plaintiff would move to lift the stay of execution. (Ibid.) Judgment was entered accordingly on February 7, 2022, with execution stayed. (Judgment, entered 02/07/22.) Defendants breached the settlement agreement by failing to make any payments. (Motion, Frisch Decl., ¶¶4-6 and Exhs. 2-4.) Therefore, Plaintiff is entitled to enforcement of the settlement agreement by an order lifting the stay of execution.

Motion of Plaintiff Petra Ogner, Trustee of the Irving D. Ogner Trust, to Enforce Settlement Agreement and Lift Stay of Execution is GRANTED. THE STAY OF EXECUTION ON THE JUDGMENT IS HEREBY LIFTED.