Opinion ID: 1573671
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Court's approach to a motion to enforce a settlement agreement

Text: The trial court may take one of three possible avenues to decide a motion to enforce settlement: (1) the trial court may hold an evidentiary hearing on the motion to determine the disputed facts and then enter judgment after taking evidence to prove the agreement and any defenses the non-moving party may proffer; (2) the court may dispose of the motion on the pleadings pursuant to Rule 55.27; or (3) the trial court may treat the motion as akin to that for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 74.04.
By far the most desirable approach would be to hold an evidentiary hearing where the moving party proves the agreement and the non-moving party can then present evidence as to any defenses. However, in this case the trial court did not hold an evidentiary hearing but, rather, took the motion under submission after oral argument was heard.
If the court does not hold an evidentiary hearing, it may hear argument and enter judgment on the pleadings. Rule 55.27. The question presented by a motion for judgment on the pleadings is whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on the face of the pleadings. RGB2, Inc. v. Chestnut Plaza, Inc., 103 S.W.3d 420, 424 (Mo.App. 2003). The well-pleaded facts of the non-moving party's pleading are treated as admitted for purposes of the motion. State ex rel. Nixon v. American Tobacco Co., 34 S.W.3d 122, 134 (Mo. banc 2000). Judgment on the pleadings is appropriate where the question before the court is strictly one of law. RGB2, 103 S.W.3d at 424. In Madison Block Pharmacy, Inc. v. U.S. Fidelity and Guaranty Co., this Court held that the trial court property granted the defendant insurance company's motion for judgment on the pleadings where the issue before the court was one of contractual interpretationa question of law. 620 S.W.2d 343, 345 (Mo. banc 1981). In Madison Block there was no disputed issue of fact. Rather, the issue before the court was whether coverage existed for certain losses caused by flood waters when a motor boat steered through the front door of a building, allowing flood and surface waters to enter the structure. Id. In affirming the trial court's grant of the insurance company's motion, this Court stated that the language of the policy was clear and unambiguous in excluding such losses. Id. at 346. Thus, the trial court properly sustained the motion for judgment on the pleadings. Id. In support of their motion to enforce in this case, the defendants' pleading averred that the Eatons' first attorney contacted the counsel for Chevron on September 27, 2004, made a settlement demand of $26,000, and that this demand was accepted by the defendants. In their suggestions in opposition to the motion to enforce, the Eatons stated that they retrieved their file from that attorney on September 27, 2004, the day the settlement offer purportedly was made, and only asked the attorney to ascertain the status of the case so they could inform new counsel. Their responsive pleading states that they did not give the attorney authority, express or implied, to settle the case, but that they were, in fact, terminating their relationship with him and his firm. In its memorandum opinion granting the motion to enforce, the trial court stated that the Eatons advanced no theory in their objection to the motion to enforce settlement, that could, if proven, overcome the presumption their first attorney had authority to enter into the settlement. This ruling indicates the trial court chose to treat this question as solely a matter of law. However, the pleadings raised a question of material factthe authority of the first attorney to settle the dispute; therefore, judgment on the pleadings, as a matter of law, was not appropriate. The first attorney's authority to enter into the agreement on behalf of the Eatons is clearly a material issue of fact. Moreover, under Rule 55.27, the court should have treated the well-pleaded facts of the Eaton' pleading, that they had terminated their association with the attorney when they picked up their legal file and that they did not give that attorney authority to settle, as foreclosing the possibility of summary disposition of the dispute without a stipulation of the material facts. The judgment entered by the trial court does not reflect this treatment. Given the material issue of fact raised by the pleadings (whether the Eatons' attorney had authority to make an offer of $26,000 to settle the claim), judgment as a matter of law based solely on the averments of the pleadings fails. Moreover, if the trial court entered judgment based solely on the pleadings, given the issue of material fact raised, the judgment is not supported by sufficient competent evidence in the record. Indeed, there is no record and no evidence to allow any findings of fact. Thus, the judgment alternately fails on the standard of review. Under the record here, any attempt to have rendered judgment on the pleadings would have been for naught.
The trial court may, however, consider matters outside the pleadings under Rule 55.27(b). If the trial court chooses to consider matters outside the pleadings . . . presented to and not excluded by the court, the trial court is treating the motion for judgment on the pleadings as one for summary judgment under Rule 74.04. Rule 55.27(b). In so doing, the court must give all parties . . . a reasonable opportunity to present all materials made pertinent to such a motion by Rule 74.04. These materials include discovery, exhibits or affidavits upon which the motion relies. Rule 74.04(c)(1). The defendants attached to their motion affidavits of the attorneys. The record does not reflect that the trial court excluded these affidavits. If the trial court considered the affidavits, thereby treating the defendants' motion as one for summary judgment, the trial court would have been required to provide notice of its intention to do so to the Eatons. The record does not reflect that the trial court provided the requisite notice or that the court afforded the Eatons the opportunity to provide their own exhibits and affidavits. The failure to provide notice or the opportunity to proffer affidavits and exhibits violates Rule 55.27.