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Mohoi v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County2/27/2002
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.
In this personal injury case, the plaintiff sued the City of Santa Monica for injuries sustained when he was hit by a city bus. The parties negotiated the terms of a settlement, which was reduced to writing and signed by plaintiff, his counsel, and the attorney representing the city. The city council approved the settlement.
Thereafter, the plaintiff died. Upon learning of the death, the city manager refused to sign the settlement agreement. For lack of the signature, the city now takes the position that the settlement agreement is not enforceable.
The plaintiff's son, as administrator of his father's estate, sought to amend the complaint in this action to allege a breach of the settlement agreement. The trial court denied the motion, finding that the settlement was unenforceable. The matter is before us on a petition by the administrator seeking a writ of mandate directing the trial court to allow the amendment.
We conclude that the proposed amendment is sufficient to allege a breach of the settlement agreement, and, thus, the trial court should have granted the motion to amend.
BACKGROUND
On February 15, 1998, Jack Joseph Mohoi was near the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Fourth Street in Santa Monica when he was struck by a "Big Blue Bus," owned by the City of Santa Monica and driven by Roland Dolz. (We refer to the city and Dolz collectively as the city.) The bus crushed one of Mohoi's legs. On February 10, 1999, Mohoi filed this action against the city. Trial was set for November 1, 2000.
In May 2000, the parties participated in a mediation before the Honorable Bruce Sotille (retired). The mediation was not successful.
On October 18, 2000, the parties appeared before Judge Sotille for a second mediation. Six other individuals were present. Mohoi was there with his counsel, Wayne McClean and Josef Avesar. The city was represented by outside counsel, Kara Pape of Schaffer, Lax, McNaughton & Chen. Lancer Insurance Company, the city's excess carrier, sent a representative. (The city was self-insured up to $100,000.) Douglas Rennie, counsel for Lancer Insurance, was also in attendance.
At the conclusion of the mediation, the participants agreed on a settlement, which was set forth in a "Stipulation for Settlement" and signed by Mohoi, his counsel, and Pape. The stipulation, dated October 18, 2000, recited that " he defendant , (1) City of Santa Monica, (2) Roland Dolz . . . shall pay to the plaintiff(s), the sum of $300,000 as payment in full of all his/her/it/their claims arising from the events described in the complaint. [ ] . . . [ ] . . . Defendants will reimburse plaintiff's costs of $20,000."
The settlement agreement indicated that Mohoi wanted a tax-free structured settlement and that he would obtain a reduction in the amount of a medical lien held by the Veterans Administration so as to increase his share of the settlement proceeds. The agreement also stated: "The parties stipulate that the Superior Court of Los Angeles County shall have jurisdiction to enforce the terms and conditions of this settlement pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure 664.6."
After the mediation, counsel for the city submitted a notice of settlement to the trial court, vacating the November 1, 2000 trial date.
On
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