Fettig v. Hilton Garden Inns Management LLC

Filed 5/4/22 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION EIGHT

LAURA FETTIG, B307348

Plaintiff and Appellant, Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BC596162 v.

HILTON GARDEN INNS MANAGEMENT LLC et al.,

Defendants and Respondents.

APPEAL from orders of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Armen Tamzarian, Judge. Affirmed.

Mortimer Law Firm, Thomas F. Mortimer, Jr.; Orland Law Group and James J. Orland for Plaintiff and Appellant.

Harmeyer Law Group, Jeff G. Harmeyer and Timothy B. Pickett for Defendants and Respondents.

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“Duress by a third person” is the legal label for this contract case. Laura Fettig is trying to escape a settlement she put on the record. She claims her trial lawyer forced her to take the deal. But duress by a third person cannot void a contract when the other contracting party did not know about the duress and relied in good faith. Fettig settled with defendants who were unaware of the alleged duress. Fettig’s accusation against her lawyer does not enable her to rescind a contract with others innocent of the charge. We affirm. Fettig alleged a Hilton hotel shuttle bus hit her in 2014. She sued Hilton and the bus driver for a range of injuries. (We refer to the defendants as “Hilton.”) Hilton, on the other hand, maintained its bus never hit Fettig; rather Fettig, angry the driver cut her off, thumped her fist on his bus and faked her maladies. The case went to trial in February 2020. Fettig rested and, after a lunch recess, the trial lawyers announced a settlement: Hilton would pay $85,000 for Fettig’s release. On the record, the trial court asked Fettig if she agreed. Fettig equivocated. The trial court explained Fettig had to reach a definite decision about whether to accept the deal. The back- and-forth continued for 10 pages of transcript, including two recesses for Fettig to confer with her lawyer, Jared Gross. After the second recess, Fettig said she did not need more time. The court asked if she was sure and said, “Would you like [to] wait overnight to think about it? Not a problem.” Fettig replied, “No, I don’t need overnight, your Honor.” Fettig acquiesced in the $85,000 settlement. The court excused the jury.