Judge: Mark E. Windham, Case: 20STLC02125, Date: 2023-01-03 Tentative Ruling
Case Number: 20STLC02125 Hearing Date: January 3, 2023 Dept: 26
MOTION TO E
(CCP
§ 664.6)
TENTATIVE RULING:
Plaintiff State Farm Mutual
Automobile Insurance Company’s Motion to Vacate Dismissal, Enforce Settlement
Agreement and Enter Judgment is GRANTED IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,660.00.
ANALYSIS:
Plaintiff State
Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (“Plaintiff”) filed the instant action
for automobile subrogation against Defendant Alexis Quezada (“Defendant”) on
March 4, 2020. On August 26, 2021, 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 granted the request for dismissal with retention of
jurisdiction the next day. (Order for Settlement and Dismissal, 08/27/21.)
Plaintiff filed the instant Motion to Vacate Dismissal, Enforce
Settlement and Enter Judgment on November 7, 2022. No opposition has been filed
to date.
Discussion
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 both
parties and their attorneys. (Motion, Espinosa Decl., Exh. A, pp. 3-4.)
Furthermore, the request for
retention of jurisdiction was made in writing, by the parties, before the
action was dismissed. (Id. at Exh. A, ¶3.) These requirements must also
be met for the retention of jurisdiction to conform to the statutory language.
(Wackeen v. Malis (2002) 97 Cal.App.4th 429, 433 [“requests for
retention of jurisdiction must be made prior to a dismissal of the suit.
Moreover, like the settlement agreement itself, the request must be made orally
before the court or in a signed writing, and it must be made by the parties,
not by their attorneys, spouses or other such agents. 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.”].) Therefore, the Court finds
that the parties’ settlement agreement is enforceable, and the request for the
Court’s retention of jurisdiction is proper, under Code of Civil Procedure section 664.6.
The settlement agreement provides
that Defendant would pay Plaintiff $7,000.00 by way of a $5,000.00 payment from
insurance, followed by monthly payments starting on November 15, 2021. (Id.
at Exh. A, ¶2.) The settlement agreement also provides that if Defendant defaults,
judgment in the settlement amount, plus costs, less monies paid, may be entered
in Plaintiff’s favor. (Id. at Exh. A, ¶3.) Defendant made payments in
the amount of $5,400.00 and thereafter defaulted. (Id. at ¶¶4-5.)
Therefore, Plaintiff seeks an order entering judgment against Defendant based
on the principal settlement amount of $1,600.00 ($7,000.00 - $5,400.00) plus
costs of $60.00, for a total of $1,660.00. (Id. at ¶8.)
Conclusion
Plaintiff State Farm Mutual
Automobile Insurance Company’s Motion to Vacate Dismissal, Enforce Settlement
Agreement and Enter Judgment is GRANTED IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,660.00.
Moving party to give notice.