Let Me Out … of this Settlement Agreement!

In this video, partner Keith A. Davidson discusses whether of not you can get out of your settlement agreement. (12/24/2020).

In this video, I want to discuss can you overturn your settlement agreement?
So let’s say you went to mediation, you worked out a settlement, there is a written settlement agreement prepare, you signed it. And now it’s a week or two later and you’re thinking, boy, I feel like I was tricked. I feel like I was coerced. I never should have signed that settlement agreement. What a huge mistake. And you want to get out of that settlement agreement.

Well, for starters, I want to assure you that you probably were not tricked or coerced. You probably made actually a very good decision, believe it or not, it just might not feel that way after the fact. There’s always a little bit of ‘buyer’s remorse’ after a settlement. There’s a let-down in other words, because now the litigation’s over.

Secondly, it’s very, very difficult to get out of settlement agreements. It’s nearly impossible. Settlement agreements are highly, highly favored by the court because it ends the case. And it probably ends it better than it would have been ended had it gone on to trial, believe it or not. So, you’re ability to get out of your settlement agreement is going to be pretty much nonexistent.

There are a very narrow exceptions. Obviously, if you honestly were coerced in the sense that somebody had a gun to your head, that would be one way where you could get out of a settlement agreement. But, if you don’t have something that’s very extreme, then, chances are, you’re not going to be able to get out of a settlement agreement. And I’ll tell you any time somebody reaches out to our firm and they want us to take a case after a settlement agreement has been entered into, and they say, well, I want you to get me out of this settlement agreement, I never take those cases. Because trying to get out of a settlement agreement is just – it’s next to impossible.

So I’m not saying you have no chance, but it’s such a small chance, I’m not sure it’s even worth talking about.