Harrop v. Western Airlines, Inc.
| Decision Date | 31 January 1977 |
| Docket Number | No. 76-2115,76-2115 |
| Citation | 550 F.2d 1143 |
| Parties | 23 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 1517, 13 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 11,543 Edith HARROP and Alice Lewis, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. WESTERN AIRLINES, INC., Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Before HUFSTEDLER, SNEED and KENNEDY, Circuit Judges.
Edith Harrop and Alice Lewis brought an action against Western Airlines under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq. (1970 & Supp. V 1975). After numerous continuances, the attorneys for the parties informed the district court that the case had been settled and that the only remaining task was to draft settlement papers. The trial court advised counsel that it would enter an order dismissing the action, with the condition that the order could be vacated within sixty days if the terms of the settlement could not be effected. The order dismissing the action with prejudice was entered the following day. 1
The plaintiffs, however, apparently declined to execute the formal settlement documents presented by their attorney. Three months after entry of the order of dismissal, the plaintiffs moved to substitute attorneys. The court denied the motion on the ground that the action had earlier been dismissed. Thereafter, exactly one year after the order of dismissal had been entered, the plaintiffs filed a motion under Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b) seeking to set aside the order on the ground that the plaintiffs had not agreed to the settlement and had not authorized their attorney to settle the case or move to dismiss the action. The trial court denied the motion, and the plaintiffs appeal.
If the record had shown that the plaintiffs had agreed to the settlement, or that the attorneys had authority to settle the suit and dismiss the action, the district court would then have acted well within its discretion in denying the motion. The trial court, however, proceeded on the express assumption that if the attorney for the defendants had been advised by opposing counsel that the settlement was satisfactory to the plaintiffs, then the settlement was binding and dismissal of the action was proper.
A settlement agreement may be binding, in some circumstances, even if it is an oral one. Nevertheless, at least under California law, which is arguably applicable...
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Ward v. Arkansas State Police, LR-C-77-256.
...elementary legal principle that an attorney may not settle a case without the express permission of the client. Harrop v. Western Airlines, Inc., 550 F.2d 1143 (9th Cir. 1977); Thomas v. Colorado Trust Deed Funds, Inc., 366 F.2d 136 (10th Cir. 1966). Implied authority to settle a case is no......
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