Walton

A $40,000 default judgment was entered against defendant Scott Mueller in this action in June of 2006. That judgment became final. Some two years later, Mueller began negotiations with Timothy J. Walton, the judgment creditor, to satisfy the judgment. Although Mueller contends that they reached an agreement to fully satisfy the judgment by Mueller paying Walton $15,000, Walton disputes that such a contract was ever formed. Without actually having paid anything, Mueller filed a motion to enforce the alleged settlement, purportedly under Code of Civil Procedure section 664.6, which, under certain conditions, provides for entry of judgment in conformance with a settlement in pending litigation. The trial court denied the motion, finding that no settlement agreement was ever reached. Regardless of whether an agreement was reached, we conclude that section 664.6 does not apply after a judgment has become final in an ordinary civil action because, at that point, litigation is no longer pending as expressly contemplated by the statute. We accordingly affirm.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Walton, a lawyer representing himself, initiated this action by filing his complaint for damages…