Enforceable Settlement Does Not Need to be Signed and can be Agreed by Attorneys

“To be enforceable, an agreement must be sufficiently specific, and reflect assent by the parties to all essential terms. . . . Where essential terms of an agreement remain open, subject to future negotiation, there can be no enforceable contract.” Portner v. Koppel, 49 Fla.L.Weekly D599a (Fla. 4th DCA 2024) (citation and quotation omitted). This applies to settlement agreements that are governed under contract law principles. Portner, supra. “Emails between attorneys can constitute an enforceable settlement agreement.” Id. Sometimes, a party may have “buyer’s remorse” and refuse to sign a settlement agreement. This fact alone does NOT mean there is not a...

17 November

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What Constitutes an Enforceable Contract?

Posted by David Adelstein

in Appeal

An enforceable or valid contract requires an offer, acceptance of that offer, consideration, and sufficient specification of material terms. Jericho All-Weather Opportunity Fund, LP v. Pier Seventeen Marina, 41 Fla. L. Weekly D2565a (Fla. 4th DCA 2016). Whether a contract actually constitutes an enforceable contract is subject to a de novo standard of appellate review; this is the same appellate standard of review pertaining to an appeal of a trial court’s interpretation of a contract. See id. The case in Jericho All-Weather Opportunity Fund exemplifies a party suing on the wrong contract and, thus, an appellate court reversing a judgment in...