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Luethke v. Suhr8/9/2002
NATURE OF CASE
Appellee, Jonathan Luethke, filed a personal injury lawsuit against the appellants, Ronald Suhr, Sandi Suhr, and Marci Kloppel, after an automobile injury accident involving Luethke and Kloppel. While trial was pending, the parties' counsel reached a settlement agreement; the settlement agreement was not reduced to writing, and subsequently, the appellants filed an amended answer and cross-petition to enforce the agreement. The district court bifurcated the proceedings between the settlement agreement enforcement claim and Luethke's personal injury cause of action. In a bench trial of the settlement enforcement claim, Luethke testified over the appellants' evidentiary objections that he did not give his attorney the authority to settle his claim. The district court concluded that because the attorney-client agency relationship regarding settlement agreements does not include apparent authority to settle, the appellants could not enforce the settlement agreement. The appellants appealed the judgment of the district court. The court has yet to try the personal injury claim.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
On June 27, 1995, Luethke was injured in an automobile accident. Attorney Mary Wickenkamp filed suit on Luethke's behalf on July 14, 1997, alleging in the petition that Kloppel, driving a truck owned by Ronald Suhr and Sandi Suhr, negligently struck the rear of Luethke's vehicle while he waited to make a left-hand turn at the intersection of Nebraska Highway 15 and Waverly Road in Seward County. The appellants retained attorney Alan Plessman to represent them in the suit filed by Luethke.
On July 20, 1998, the day before a scheduled pretrial conference, Plessman faxed the following letter, in pertinent part, to Wickenkamp:
I hereby offer to pay to you and your clients and any subrogees or lienholders we have notice of, that sum of $16,000.00, in exchange for a complete release of liability for our insureds and Continental Western Insurance Company; and a dismissal with prejudice of the pending suit, with all parties to bear their own costs and fees.
[The insurance company] gave me that authority to be accepted by you before 5:00 p.m. today. Thereafter it is withdrawn. So, if this is a deal, fax me back a note to that effect.
Later that same day, Wickenkamp responded in a faxed letter, in pertinent part:
I have not been able to make contact with my client by 5:00 to get positive authority to accept your offer of $16,000. I am willing to recommend your offer to my client, but I need to meet with Jon to discuss it. As we have discussed before, this young man has a developmental disability and I need to make certain his decision in this matter is informed.
That same day, Plessman responded to Wickenkamp and extended the offer until 9 a.m. the following morning.
On July 21, 1998, Wickenkamp accepted Plessman's offer via faxed letter: "My client will accept the offer. . . . Thanks for your cooperation in getting this done. I will assume that we are not meeting today with the Judge [for pretrial conference] and will call his office this morning." The district court judge's docket notes for July 21, 1998, read: "'Case settled. Paperwork coming.'"
Plessman sent settlement documents to Wickenkamp on July 21, 1998, with a letter stating: "Enclosed are settlement papers, I need back after they're signed, along with directions on how to cut checks for payment of the $16,000.00. Once I know that, I can get the drafts in a day or so." In a letter dated July 29, 1998, Wickenkamp responded:
Thank you for getting me the settlement documents so promptly. I've sent the
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