settlement agreement

Jan 23, 2020 Laurie J. Hepler
Ways To Blow It

If you expect to take a case to judgment, preserving the right to appeal is vital. The same may (or may not) be true if you’re settling subject to decisions yet to come from the trial court. Here are some ways that even experienced lawyers and sophisticated clients can and do forfeit the chance to appeal—along with tips to help ensure you don’t give up more than you intend.

Murphy v. Hansen (Aug. 27, 2009, B206751) 2009 WL 2623335 [nonpublished opinion]

After GMSR’s client purchased a Malibu hilltop homesite together with essential access easements, a neighboring landowner challenged the easements’ existence. The multiple disputing parties in two lawsuits entered into a complex written settlement agreement involving transfers of land, easements, trust deeds, and cash—but then could

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