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Bryant v. Palmer Coking Coal Co.8/24/1992
383, review denied, 100 Wash. 2d 1015 (1983). Stottlemyre involved an oral settlement agreement in a personal injury lawsuit. This
court held that where the attorney stated on the record that he negotiated a settlement with the approval of his client, the requirements of RCW 2.44.010 were satisfied.
We do not find Stottlemyre to be persuasive in this context. First, Stottlemyre's attorney stated on the record that he had accepted a settlement with the approval of his client. Second, Stottlemyre fails to explain why Eddleman v. McGhan, 45 Wash. 2d 430, 275 P.2d 729 (1954) is not controlling authority. In Eddleman, our Supreme Court held that where it is disputed that a settlement agreement was reached, noncompliance with the statute and court rule governing settlements dictates that the agreement is unenforceable.
Moreover, the court in Eddleman emphasized that the purpose of CR 2A and RCW 2.44.010 is to avoid disputes like this one by requiring settlement agreements to be on the record in court or in writing signed by the parties:
The purpose of the cited rule and statute is to avoid such disputes and to give certainty and finality to settlements and compromises, if they are made. While the compromise of litigation is to be encouraged, negotiations toward a compromise are not binding upon the negotiators. Where, as here, it is disputed that the negotiations culminated in an agreement, noncompliance with the rule and statute leaves the court with no alternative. It must disregard the conflicting evidence as they direct.
Eddleman, 45 Wash. 2d at 432; see also Gaskill v. Mercer Island, 19 Wash. App. 307, 576 P.2d 1318, review denied, 90 Wash. 2d 1015 (1978).
In light of the underlying purpose of CR 2A and RCW 2.44.010, we hold that the alleged settlement agreement is unenforceable because it was not stipulated to on the record in open court or memorialized by a writing signed by the party to be bound. It is thus unnecessary for us to address the additional issues raised by the parties.
Reversed.
Disposition
Holding that the agreement was unenforceable, the court reverses the judgment.
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