Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

A settlement can be put on the record in court before a judge and a court reporter without becoming a judgment. If that is done, and one party breaches the settlement, the other party can THEN have the settlement turned into a judgment by making a motion to the court. The other alternative to a stipulated judgment is a settlement agreement. With a settlement agreement you are basically substituting a contract in place of the dispute. The down side is that if the other party breaches the settlement agreement, your only recourse is a new lawsuit, this time for breach of contract (the settlement contract).