Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

Re: Case settled but they want more

You need to get a copy of the settlement agreement entered into between the company and the plaintiff, to see if the company's attorney's advice to you was accurate about the case being settled as to all defendants, including you.

You should contact the company's attorney and tell him about the contact from the plaintiff's lawyer. Hopefully, he will be surprised by the news and will take action to enforce the settlement on your behalf.

You might first check the case file in the Court Clerk's Office, to see whether a notice of dismissal form has been filed in the case by the plaintiff's attorney, and if so, whether it states that all defendants are dismissed. If not, this could either mean that there was a "misunderstanding" about the scope of the settlement on the part of plaintiff's atty, or that the company's attorney failed to note this discrepancy when he reviewed his copy of the notice of dismissal. (If you were representing yourself, you should have received a copy of this notice, too, if your current address is on file with the Court.)

You should also take note of what, if anything, you did in reliance on the advice of the company's attorney that the case was settled as to you as a defendant. (Hopefully, you made a note about the call you received from him on this subject.) For example, did you dispose of evidence favorable to your defense when you were told the case had been settled as to all parties? If your defense would now be prejudiced by the loss of that evidence, you may have a claim against the company's attorney for negligent misrepresentation or negligent legal advice.

You would be well advised to hire a lawyer in your community, since your situation seems to have gotten more complicated with the settlement, not less, and you need to sit down and discuss the facts of your case in detail with a professional who has only your interests in mind.