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Mikonczyk v. Detroit Newspapers2/4/2000
For publication
Defendants appeal as of right from a judgment in favor of plaintiff in this personal injury case. We affirm.
At the time he was injured, plaintiff was employed by defendants. In the fall of 1995, plaintiff was one of many employees involved in a much-publicized strike against defendants. On October 2, 1995, while picketing on the sidewalk outside his place of employment, plaintiff was struck by one of defendants' delivery trucks. As a consequence, plaintiff sustained serious physical injuries.
On the day set for trial, the parties placed a settlement agreement on the record. Defense counsel announced the settlement amount and advised the court that the parties would subsequently execute a written settlement agreement. Thereafter plaintiff testified that he agreed to the terms of the agreement and acknowledged that it was a full, final, and complete settlement. The court accepted the agreement and requested counsel to reduce the agreement to writing.
The parties were subsequently unable to agree on the terms of the written agreement. Specifically, plaintiff objected to the inclusion of an express waiver of his employee recall rights, and he refused to sign defendants' proposed written agreement. Thereafter, plaintiff filed a motion for entry of judgment against defendants pursuant to the terms of the agreement set forth on the record. Defendants responded with a countermotion to enforce the judgment they prepared, which included a broad release of all plaintiff's claims, including his recall rights. Following a hearing, the trial court entered judgment in plaintiff's favor.
The sole issue raised on appeal is whether the trial court erred in entering judgment based on the settlement agreement placed on the record. In support of their argument, defendants first assert that the agreement on the record contained a condition precedent that was not satisfied. Specifically, defendants argue that before the agreement could become effective, the parties were bound to execute a mutually satisfactory written agreement (the alleged condition precedent). We disagree.
A settlement agreement is binding when it is made in open court. MCR 2.507(H). "An agreement to settle a pending lawsuit is a contract and is to be governed by the legal principles applicable to the construction and interpretation of contracts." Walbridge Aldinger Co v Walcon Corp, 207 Mich App 566, 571; 525 NW2d 489 (1994). "The primary goal in the construction or interpretation of any contract is to honor the intent of the parties." Rasheed v Chrysler Corp, 445 Mich 109, 127, n 28; 517 NW2d 19 (1994).
A "condition precedent" is a fact or event that the parties intend must take place before there is a right to performance. A condition precedent is distinguished from a promise in that it creates no right or duty in itself, but is merely a limiting or modifying factor. Courts are not inclined to construe stipulations of a contract as conditions precedent unless compelled by the language in the contract. [Reed v Citizens Ins Co of America, 198 Mich App 443, 447; 499 NW2d 22 (1993) (citations omitted)].
We agree with the trial court's determination that the "subject to the satisfaction of each party" language was not a condition precedent because it was not intended to limit either parties' performance under the contract. Rather, the statement was a promise reflecting the parties' intent to reduce the settlement agreement to writing utilizing mutually agreeable language.
Defendants also argue that the trial court erred in not including a broad release from any future claims. We disagree. A review of the settlement agreement placed o
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