Simmons

The parties to a medical malpractice case attended a mediation. Defendant Lida Ghaderi, M.D. provided her medical malpractice insurer, Cooperative American Physicians/Mutual Protection Trust ("CAP-MPT") with her written consent to settle the case for the amount of $125,000. An offer in that amount was transmitted to the plaintiffs, who unconditionally accepted. While the mediator was reducing the settlement agreement to writing, the CAP-MPT claims specialist informed Dr. Ghaderi that a settlement had been reached. Dr. Ghaderi then informed the CAP-MPT representative that she was revoking her consent to settle, and left the mediation. Plaintiffs ultimately amended their medical malpractice complaint to include a cause of action for breach of the oral settlement contract. After a bifurcated trial on that cause of action, the trial court entered judgment in favor of plaintiffs in the amount of $125,000. Dr. Ghaderi appeals, arguing that the Evidence Code provisions governing mediation confidentiality prevented plaintiffs from introducing any evidence of the oral settlement agreement. We conclude Dr. Ghaderi is estopped from relying on mediation confidentiality and…