Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
If a General Release (for an already dismissed related case, and an out-of-court related case, yet to be filed) is not signed by defendants ( a company & their insurance carrier), and was only signed by in pro per-Plaintiff, is it still valid, or does it have to be signed by defendants, even though there was no signing line for defendants.. Defendants did agree to settle via e-mail communications, though no signature was in place, they agreed in writing. Is that valid too?
1 Answer from Attorneys
It all sounds valid. A release is not a contract. So only the releasing party has to sign it. A written agreement to settle is a contract, but not all contracts must be signed. Clear email communication reaching an agreement generally is upheld either as a written agreement, or as clear evidence of an oral agreement. So they generally hold up.