We have often cautioned practitioners that under certain circumstances an oral agreement may constitute an enforceable settlement agreement. A recent Southern District of New York case offers the additional lesson that a writing other than a formal settlement agreement may constitute an enforceable agreement—even if one of the parties expects that additional “standard” provisions will be added to the agreement. Put another way, a party’s expectation that “standard” provisions, such as a general release, will be included in a settlement agreement will not necessarily prohibit enforcement of a settlement; such provisions will not be “implied” in the agreement if they are not contemplated by the parties’ writing.

In Scheinmann v. Dykstra, 16 Civ. 5446 (S.D.N.Y. April 21, 2017), plaintiff Noah Scheinmann had sued former baseball player Leonard Dykstra for (among other claims) breach of contract based on an agreement for Scheinmann to serve as a ghostwriter on Dykstra’s social media accounts. Complaint, No. 16-cv-05446-AT, Dkt. #1. Dykstra counterclaimed for breaches of contract and of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Counterclaims to Plaintiff’s Complaint, No. 16-cv-05446-AT, Dkt. #37. In March 2017, the parties’ respective counsel exchanged emails regarding the settlement of the litigation. Scheinmann v. Dykstra, No. 16-cv-05446, slip op. at 1-2 (S.D.N.Y. April 21, 2017). Plaintiff’s counsel sent his adversary an email stating

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]