Opinion ID: 2585556
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Enforcement of Settlement Agreement

Text: [¶ 11] Addressing Kendrick's last issue first, she contends that her agreement to settle was contingent upon the written contract's expressing that the settlement amount was for medical expenses only, not lost income, and that her car insurer would not be seeking subrogation for the medical expenses that it paid. Barker contends that the trial court correctly ruled that the oral agreement was simply $40,000.00 in exchange for a release of all claims and no contingencies existed that prevented enforcement of the agreement. Although the transcripts show that the trial court explored avenues to resolve Kendrick's concern that the proceeds be designated as medical expenses, we agree with Barker that the trial court decided that Kendrick's acceptance of Barker's offer was not contingent upon the form of the written documentation. [¶ 12] A settlement agreement is a contract that is subject to the legal principles applicable to any contract. McCormick, 926 P.2d at 362. Whether an oral or written contract has been entered into depends on the parties' intent and is a question of fact. Wyoming Sawmills, 756 P.2d at 775. The finder of fact in this case was the trial court, which heard all of the evidence offered by Kendrick and Barker. In our review of this decision, we assume that the evidence of the prevailing party below is true and give that party every reasonable inference that can fairly and reasonably be drawn from it. We do not substitute ourselves for the trial court as a finder of facts; instead, we defer to those findings unless they are unsupported by the record or erroneous as a matter of law. Burg v. Ruby Drilling Co., Inc., 783 P.2d 144, 153 (Wyo.1989). [¶ 13] Here, the trial court found that an oral agreement existed, rejected Kendrick's argument that the agreement was contingent upon the written agreement, and examined many factors similar to those listed in McCormick to find that the agreement should be enforced. Kendrick does not contend those findings are unsupported or in error, and we defer to these findings.