- 7 -
to reach settlement. After the mediation, there were several
telephone conversations, facsimile exchanges, and correspondence
among Judge Gilbert and counsel for both parties regarding the
specifics of the settlement.
On July 21, 1998, petitioner’s counsel sent to the
defendants’ counsel a package including the settlement agreement,
a stipulation to amend the complaint, a second amended complaint,
and a signed dismissal for both the complaint and the cross-
complaint. Petitioner’s counsel included a cover letter to this
package stating:
Per our discussion a couple of months ago, we are
simply amending the complaint prior to dismissal to
comply with accounting advice we have received. It has
no operative effect whatever on the settlement.
You can forward the dismissals to the Clerk with
the instructions to enter the dismissals after the
stipulation is signed and the amended complaint is
filed * * *
The settlement agreement was signed by petitioner on
July 20, 1998, and by the defendants on August 6, 1998. The
other three documents in the settlement package were dated in
July 1998, but were not received by the court until October 13,
1998.
The settlement agreement referred to the complaint and the
two amended complaints by stating that petitioner sought damages
for breach of contract and several causes of action including
infliction of emotional distress and personal injury. The
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011