Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
When settling a Medical Malpractice case (an Urgent Care center had improperly put a splint too tight on a hairline/small fracture arm that caused little bruising & little swelling, which is why no Med Mal firm took the case, cause damages are little) , in the Settlement Agreement/General Release, does the Defendant & their attorney have to sign it first before submitting It to the In Pro Per Plaintiff, for final signature?,,,, Because their counsel submitted one with only the Plaintiff's signature required, and a Request For Dismissal.,,,,,Can any of you attorneys review it for me and e-mail me what you think, to see if its proper. ,,,,I will give each of you that answered this question, $40 after receiving settlement money from Defendant.
1 Answer from Attorneys
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The most important thing that I can recommend to you is to protect yourself by making sure that the settlement agreement embraces the terms of Code of Civil Procedure section 664.6. That means make sure that a reservation of jurisdiction to enforce the settlement agreement is in the request for dismissal, and make sure that the settlement agreement is signed by all of the parties, and not just the attorneys. You need a written signed settlement agreement in place that complies with section 664.6, and you need to not sign a request for dismissal unless the reservation of jurisdiction is on that dismissal.