Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Breach of contract.

Good question, I must assume that the judgment contains no language which defines what happens if contacts made. Also, what defines contact is a good question at the same time. Assuming there is sufficient contact you would go to court and file an order to show cause why in the opposing party should not be held in contempt for violating the court order/judgment. The court in as the discretion to deal with this. More likely than not if the contact is minimal, and if you suffered no damages other than annoyance and this is the first time, the court will basically "slap the other sides wrists". If though this were to continue the court might impose further sanctions after the second or more times. That is the reason that you do go to court even though you don't expect much to happen. You build your record. Now, why don't you asked the attorney who handle the matter in court for you. Oh, there was no attorney and that's why the judgment is lacking in a couple of different areas which hopefully in attorney with should have managed to cover adequately. Or, the attorney didn't do his job. Good luck.i have been practicing law in this speciality for over 30 years in the san francisco bay area and if you wish to consult with me you can contact me at 925-945-6000.

Re: Breach of contract.

Your agreement should state the terms and conditions re violation of conditions of the settlement. However, I believe such a settlement would require or it might be reasonable for minimal contact re satisfying the payment terms, etc. Need to contact attorney to review agreement.

Re: Breach of contract.

Your question uses an ambiguous phrase, "court settlement." Are you referring to a stipulated judgment, a judgment after trial, a settlement agreement reached in court-supervised alternate dispute resolution ("ADR") such as mediation, so-called judicial arbitration, true binding arbitration, or some other ADR? Or, did you simply reach an out-of-court settlement of what was once a lawsuit?

The answer to this question doesn't affect the damages issue so much as it affects the procedure available to you. It may be that the original lawsuit has been dismissed, in which case the parties are "out of court" and getting any damages or other relief would require filing a brand new suit based upon breach of the settlement agreement.

If that is the case, you would be facing thousands of dollars of new, additional costs (unless the breach can be addressed as a small claims matter), and further action for the breach would be uneconomic.

If the original case is still subject to the court's jurisdiction (i.e., has not been dismissed either by the plaintiff's request or through the passage of time), then the process described by Mr. Olden is appropriate.

If the court lacks jurisdiction due to dismissal after an out-of-court settlement or otherwise, you can't just go back before the judge to ask for damages or other relief.

Finally, if the contacts amount to harassment, you can get a restraining order rather easily under Code of Civil Procedure section 527.6, which you may want to look up and read to see if it fits your situation.