Myers v. Powell
Filing
79
ORDER AND REASONS granting 73 Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement. Signed by Judge Sarah S. Vance on 12/5/2018. (jls)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
KIYANTE MYERS
CIVIL ACTION
VERSUS
NO. 12-2181
CLIFTON POWELL
SECTION “R” (5)
ORDER AND REASONS
Before the Court is plaintiff’s unopposed motion to enforce a
settlement agreement. 1 Because the record indicates the parties agreed to an
enforceable compromise of plaintiff’s claims, the motion is granted.
I.
BACKGROUND
This case arises out of allegations of sexual assault against defendant
Clifton Powell. 2 Plaintiff Kiyante Myers alleges that on or about August 28,
2011, defendant sexually assaulted her by pushing and choking her,
penetrating her anus with his fingers, refusing her requests to stop, and
forcefully continuing to have sex with her against her will. 3 Defendant
1
2
3
R. Doc. 73.
R. Doc. 1.
Id. at 4 ¶¶ 20-22.
acknowledges that he had sexual relations with plaintiff, but he asserts the
relations were consensual. 4
On April 18, 2018, plaintiff and defendant notified the Court that they
had agreed to a settlement of plaintiff’s claims. 5 The Court then issued an
order of dismissal, which provided that either party could reopen the case if
the settlement was not consummated within sixty days. 6 On June 15, 2018,
plaintiff filed (1) a motion to enforce the agreement the parties entered into,7
and (2) a motion to extend the deadline for consummating the settlement
agreement.8 Plaintiff explained in her motions that defendant had failed to
make the payment due under the terms of the parties’ agreement. 9 The Court
granted plaintiff’s motion to extend the settlement deadline, and extended
the deadline by thirty days.10 On August 8, 2018, plaintiff again moved to
extend the settlement deadline because defendant had still not tendered
payment.11 The Court granted this motion, and extended the deadline by an
additional ninety days. 12 There has been no activity in this matter since the
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
R. Doc. 61 at 10.
R. Doc. 73-4 at 2.
R. Doc. 71.
R. Doc. 73.
R. Doc. 72.
R. Doc. 73-1 at 4-5.
R. Doc. 75.
R. Doc. 76.
R. Doc. 78.
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Court granted that motion. The Court now rules on plaintiff’s pending
motion to enforce the settlement agreement.
II.
DISCUSSION
The Court has jurisdiction to rule on plaintiff’s motion to enforce the
settlement agreement even though it previously dismissed the action. In the
order of dismissal, and in the two orders granting the parties extensions to
consummate the agreement, the Court specifically stated that it “retain[ed]
jurisdiction to enforce the settlement agreement if settlement is not
consummated” within the relevant time periods.13
These statements
extended the Court’s ancillary jurisdiction to rule on the present motion. See
Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 381 (1994) (a court
may retain jurisdiction over a settlement agreement by including in its order
of dismissal a provision stating that it intends to retain jurisdiction); AMTAX
Holdings 303, LLC v. Phase I Mgm’t, LLC, No. 06-2499, 2014 WL 4966103,
at *2 (E.D. La. Oct. 2, 2014).
Louisiana law applies to plaintiff’s motion because the Court’s
jurisdiction is based on the parties’ diversity of citizenship. Erie R.R. Co. v.
Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 78 (1938). Louisiana law provides that a settlement,
13
R. Doc. 71; R. Doc. 75; R. Doc. 78.
3
or “compromise” agreement, “is a contract whereby the parties, through
concessions made by one or more of them, settle a dispute or an uncertainty
concerning an obligation or other legal relationship.” La. Civ. Code art. 3071.
The agreement must “be made in writing or recited in open court” to be
enforceable. La. Civ. Code art. 3072. Emails and text messages can qualify
as signed writings under this provision. Preston Law Firm, LLC v. Mariner
Health Care Mgm’t Co., 622 F.3d 384, 391 (5th Cir. 2010); La. R.S. 9:2607
(“A record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely
because it is in electronic form.”). Louisiana law does not require all of the
terms of a settlement agreement to be contained in one document. Parich v.
State Farm Mut. Ins. Co., 919 F.2d 906, 913 (5th Cir. 1990). Instead,
“multiple documents which, when read together, outline the obligations of
each party and evidence each party’s acquiescence in the agreement may
effect a valid compromise agreement.” Id. “There are two essential elements
of a compromise: (1) mutual intention of preventing or putting an end to the
litigation, and (2) reciprocal concessions of the parties to adjust their
differences.” Preston Law Firm, LLC, 622 F.3d at 390 (quoting Klebanoff v.
Haberle, 978 So. 2d 598, 602 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2008)).
Here, defendant’s counsel sent a text message to plaintiff’s counsel that
stated: “We have a deal. [Defendant] needs until 4/15/18 to have the
4
$60,000.” 14 Both plaintiff’s and defendant’s counsel then contacted the
Court via email, and stated that the parties “agreed to a settlement amount
of $60,000 for release of all claims.”15 Defendant, through his counsel, thus
explicitly agreed to pay plaintiff $60,000 in exchange for plaintiff releasing
her claims. These writings evidence a valid and enforceable compromise of
plaintiff’s claims under Louisiana law. See id. at 391 (finding that a valid
compromise existed because email traffic between the parties “outline[d] the
obligations each party ha[d] to the other and evidence[d] [the defendant’s]
acquiescence in the agreement”). The Court therefore grants plaintiff’s
motion to enforce the settlement agreement.
III. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, plaintiff’s motion is GRANTED.
5th
New Orleans, Louisiana, this _____ day of December, 2018.
_____________________
SARAH S. VANCE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
14
15
R. Doc. 73-5 at 1.
R. Doc. 73-4 at 2.
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