Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Enforceability of ''Stipulation and Order''

1. In can be, depending on the setting and the terminology of the document. Code of Civil Procedure Section 664.6 states the following:

"If parties to pending litigation stipulate, in a writing signed by the parties outside the presence of the court or orally before the court, for settlement of the case, or part thereof, the court, upon motion, may enter judgment pursuant to the terms of the

settlement. If requested by the parties, the court may retain jurisdiction over the parties to enforce the settlement until performance in full of the terms of the settlement."

2. When you sign a release agreement, Civil Code 1542 says that are only waiving known claims. A 1542 waiver means you are settling ALL claims, known or unknown.

3. Probably not.

My office is in El Cajon, so call or email if you want to discuss the specifics of your case.

Re: Enforceability of ''Stipulation and Order''

1. Probably. It does not seem reasonable to me to claim you didn't know that something labeled "order" and signed by the judge in your case was binding. Did you think the judge's orders were just suggestions? To get out of this stipulated order you would have to show many things, including that you misunderstood its terms and that your misunderstanding was reasonable. I haven't seen the document so there may be a way to make this argument, but I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you.

2. This clause means that you have waived *all* claims you may have had against the defendant as of the day you signed the agreement, even if they are the subject of other litigation and/or even if you haven't learned yet that they exist.

3. No. There is no requirement that stipulated orders contain such a notice or that they be revocable at all, let alone for seven days.

Correction

I originally misread your question before I wrote my first answer and want to correct what I wrote.

I thought you had asked what effect a 1542 clause would have, but I see that you actually asked what the effect of *not* having such a clause would be.

1542 clauses belong in settlement agreements and not in other types of documents. If your stipulation and order set forth the terms of a settlement but lacked a 1542 clause, then any other claims you might have against the other side -- or that they might have against you -- are not affected. If instead the stipulated order concerned something other than a settlement, the lack of a 1542 clause is perfectly normal and affects nothing.