Judge: Mark E. Windham, Case: 19STLC11070, Date: 2023-08-10 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 19STLC11070    Hearing Date: August 10, 2023    Dept: 26

State Farm v. Leon, et al.

ENTER JUDGMENT PURSUANT TO STIPULATION

(CCP § 664.6)

TENTATIVE RULING:

Plaintiff State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company’s Motion to Vacate Dismissal, Enforce Settlement Agreement and Enter Judgment is DENIED.

ANALYSIS:

Plaintiff State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (“Plaintiff”) filed the instant action for automobile subrogation against Defendant Gabriela Leon (“Defendant”) on December 3, 2019. Defendant filed an answer on January 9, 2020.

 On July 7, 2020, Plaintiff filed a copy of its settlement agreement with Defendant with a request for dismissal and retention of jurisdiction under Code of Civil Procedure section 664.4. The Court denied the request on the same date. (Stip for Entry of Judgment and Order, 07/07/20.) On September 22, 2020, the Court entered Defendant’s dismissal from the Complaint without prejudice, pursuant to Plaintiff’s request. (Request for Dismissal, filed 09/22/20.)

On November 20, 2020, Plaintiff again filed a copy of the settlement agreement with Defendant with a request for dismissal and retention of jurisdiction under Code of Civil Procedure section 664.4. The Court granted the request on the same date. (Stip for Entry of Judgment and Order, 11/20/20.)

Plaintiff filed the instant Motion to Vacate Dismissal, Enforce Settlement, and Enter Judgment on May 11, 2023. No opposition has been filed to date.

Discussion

The instant motion 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, subd. (a).) 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.) The current statute provides that “parties” includes “an attorney who represents the party” and an insurer’s agent. (Code Civ. Proc., § 664.6, subd. (b).) The settlement must include 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 both parties and their attorneys. (Motion, Reese Decl., Exh. A, p. 3.)

Furthermore, the request for retention of jurisdiction must be made in writing, by the parties, before the action is dismissed for the Court’s retention of jurisdiction to conform to the statutory language. (Wackeen v. Malis (2002) 97 Cal.App.4th 429, 433 [“If, after a suit has been dismissed, a party brings a section 664.6 motion for a judgment on a settlement agreement but cannot present to the court a request for retention of jurisdiction that meets all of these requirements, then enforcement of the agreement must be left to a separate lawsuit.”].) The parties’ request for retention of jurisdiction does not comply with these requirements because Defendant was dismissed from the action before the request for retention of jurisdiction was made on November 20, 2020. Therefore, the Court finds that the parties’ settlement agreement is not enforceable under Code of Civil Procedure section 664.4 because the request for the Court’s retention of jurisdiction under Code of Civil Procedure section 664.6 was not proper.

Conclusion

Therefore, Plaintiff State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company’s Motion to Vacate Dismissal, Enforce Settlement Agreement and Enter Judgment is DENIED.

Court clerk to give notice.