SIRVAN YOUNESI VS. NICOLE DONN ET AL

Matter on the Law & Motion / Discovery calendar for Thursday, August 21, 2025, Line 3 [PART 1 OF 2 OF THE TENTATIVE RULING]. DEFENDANT NICOLE DONN's Motion To Enforce Settlement.

Defendant Nicole Donn's motion to enforce settlement as a judgment is granted. Donn shall prepare a proposed judgment and share it with plaintiff Sirvan Younesi pursuant to Rule of Court 3.1312.

This case arises out of a car accident. Donn extended an offer to Younesi through counsel for a payment of a sum certain. Younesi's counsel responded, "Our client has accepted the offer. We have reached a settlement." (Welch Dec., Ex. A.) Younesi then filed a Notice of Settlement of Entire Case with the court. (Id., Ex. B.)

Younesi later did not return a signed release of claims and engaged new counsel. He contends the settlement was unauthorized and is not binding. Donn now seeks to enforce the settlement and seeks a judgment in accord with the settlement.

Code of Civil Procedure, section 664.6, subdivision (a), states: "If parties to pending litigation stipulate, in a writing signed by the parties outside of the presence of the court . . . for settlement of the case, or part thereof, the court, upon motion, may enter judgment pursuant to the terms of the settlement. . . ." Subdivision (b) states that "a writing is signed by a party if it is signed by" either the party or "[a]n attorney who represents the party."

An email signature is sufficient to satisfy the signature requirement if it satisfies the requirements of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), Civil Code, section 1633.7. (See J.B.B. Investment Partners, Ltd. v. Fair (2014) 232 Cal.App.4th 974, 988 ["We agree that a printed name or some other symbol might, under specific circumstances, be a signature under UETA and might satisfy the even more rigorous requirements under Code of Civil Procedure section 664.6."].) Civil Code, section 1633.7, subdivision (a), states that "[a] record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form."

The UETA applies "to a transaction between parties each of which has agreed to conduct the transaction by electronic means. Whether the parties agree to conduct a transaction by electronic means is determined from the context and surrounding circumstances, including the parties' conduct." (Id., section 1633.5, subd. (b).)

Here, on March 11, 2025, Younesi's counsel stated that his client accepted the offer and "[w]e have reached a settlement." The same day, Younesi filed a notice of settlement of the entire case. These objective indications are the basis for the court's finding here that the parties agreed to conduct their settlement transaction by electronic means and that the email from Younesi's counsel, containing his electronic signature and accepting the settlement, was "a writing signed by" "[a]n attorney who represents the party" that satisfies the requirements of Code of Civil Procedure, section 664.6, subdivisions (a) and (b).

Donn's counsel responded with a similar writing confirming the terms, satisfying section 664.6's requirement of a writing signed by all parties through their counsel [END OF PART 1 OF 2 OF THE TENTATIVE RULING]. =(301/CVA) | |