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White v. General Motors Corporation11/3/2000
ttlement class members was to inform them that the court had given final approval to the settlement agreement and "explaining the procedure and providing Proof of Claim forms for SETTLEMENT CLASS members to obtain Certificates." Further, Section VII.7 provides, " he form and content of this Notice shall be subject to court review and approval at the request of either General Motors' Counsel or CLASS COUNSEL." Additionally, Section XI.4 of the settlement agreement states that the trial court "retain continuing and exclusive jurisdiction over the parties hereto, including all members of the SETTLEMENT CLASS, and over the administration and enforcement of the Settlement and the benefits to the SETTLEMENT CLASS hereunder." These provisions clearly indicate the trial court had authority to oversee the implementation of the mail-out of the final notices for the settlement.
However, the trial court's authority to review and approve the form and content of the final notice, as well as its continuing jurisdiction over the administration and enforcement of the settlement agreement, is not without limits. Section XI.1 of the settlement agreement provides that it "and its attachments shall constitute the entire Agreement of the parties and shall not be subject to any change, modification, amendment, or addition without the express written consent of counsel on behalf of all parties to the Agreement." Further, a settlement, or "transaction or compromise" as referred to in civilian terms, regulates only the differences that appear clearly to be intended by the parties, and does not extend to differences that the parties never intended to include in the settlement. La. C.C. art. 3071, 3073. A settlement agreement is the law between the parties and must be interpreted according to their intent. Smith v. Walker, 96-2813 (La. App. 1 Cir. 2/20/98), 708 So.2d 797, 802, writ denied, 98-0757 (La. 5/1/98), 718 So.2d 418. The compromise instrument is governed by the same general rules of construction applicable to contracts. Ortego v. State, Department of Transportation and Development, 96-1322 (La. 2/25/97), 689 So.2d 1358, 1363. Accordingly, when the words of a contract are clear and explicit and lead to no absurd consequences, no further interpretation may be made in search of the parties' intent. La. C.C. art. 2046. In determining those matters the parties intended to settle, consideration must be given to the contract as a whole and in light of attending events and circumstances. Ortego, 689 So.2d at 1363. Thus, the intent the words of the compromise instrument express, in light of the surrounding circumstances at the time of execution of the agreement, is controlling. Brown v. Drillers, Inc., 93-1019 (La. 1/14/94), 630 So.2d 741, 748.
Intent of the Parties as to the Scope of the Settlement Agreement
As indicated, an earlier version of the settlement agreement at issue herein was set aside by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in In re: General Motors Corporation Pick-Up Truck Fuel Tank Products Liability Litigation, 55 F.3d 768 (3rd Cir. 1995), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 824, 116 S.Ct. 88, 133 L.Ed.2d 45 (1995), due in part to the court's conclusion that, under the terms of the previous settlement agreement, it was possible that certificate holders would be unable to realize any significant value from the transfer option. Id., 55 F.3d at 809. When the settlement was revised and submitted to the Louisiana district court, changes were made to increase the transferability of the certificates. Further, as of the date of the November 6, 1996 fairness hearing, all parties to the agreement knew the trial court was concerned about the transferability of the certificates and the existence of a secondary market, as
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