Take Steps To Ensure Mediated Settlements Can Be Enforced
ABSTRACT: Ladies and gentlemen, start your word processors. Simmons v. Ghaderi, 2006 DJDAR 13065 (Sept. 29), may well have you revising your settlement documents before your next mediation. In Simmons , a majority of the 2nd District Court of Appeal enforced a mediated oral settlement agreement that did not comply with Evidence Code Sections 1115 et seq. The court ruled that the defendant, having divulged confidential mediation communications and having litigated the issue of the agreement's enforceability, was barred by the doctrine of estoppel from relying on the protections of mediation confidentiality.
