Nabi v. Laudermill

Opinion

GOFF, J.

*

Plaintiff filed this action for personal injuries, alleging that defendants’ negligence proximately caused him injury. Defendants answered with a general denial and asserted plaintiff’s negligence.

In telephone conversations three days before trial, the parties’ respective counsel agreed on a settlement figure of $5,000. Plaintiff’s counsel conferred by telephone with plaintiff. Plaintiff’s counsel then advised defendants’ counsel the action was settled.

Plaintiff refused to sign the settlement documents. Defendants moved the trial court for an order compelling enforcement of the agreement pursuant to

Gregory

v.

Hamilton

(1978) 77 Cal.App.3d 213 [142 Cal.Rptr. 563]. Plaintiff's declaration opposing the motion asserted that counsel who negotiated the agreement was not acting as his attorney (he had been associated to try the case by plaintiff’s counsel of record), and that plaintiff had never authorized the settlement. Plaintiff so testified upon the hearing of the motion. The attorney who represented plaintiff in the final settlement negotiations testifed that plaintiff had orally agreed to the settlement. The court made a finding on this contradictory evidence that plaintiff had accepted the settlement and, on September 5, 1979, granted the motion to enforce the settlement and ordered judgment entered against plaintiff. Plaintiff’s appeal is from this order.

[284]

Plaintiff argues that

Gregory

v.

Hamilton, supra,

77 Cal.App. 3d 213, involved a judicially supervised settlement in which the settlement conference judge and plaintiffs counsel recommended to plaintiff that she accept the offer after which plaintiff said, in the judge’s presence, that she would take her counsel’s advice. He points out the settlement in the case at bar was not judicially supervised. Plaintiff further argues that this distinction was made in