Chan

This five-year-old dispute arises out of the cutting of a number of Leyland cypress trees on Bill Chan’s Los Altos property adjacent to a fence separating his property and the property of Craig T. and Kathleen Lund (the Lunds). The Lunds hired an unlicensed tree contractor, Norma Gonzalez, doing business as Norma Tree Service (Norma Tree), to trim the trees, which had branches that extended onto the Lunds’ property. Chan brought suit against the Lunds and (later) Norma Tree. The lawsuit was purportedly settled on the eve of trial in August 2008 in proceedings before a mediator, and the terms of the purported settlement were reduced to writing. Shortly thereafter, Chan discharged his attorney, hired new counsel, and claimed that his consent to the purported settlement was obtained through economic duress, undue influence, and fraud employed by his former attorney. The court granted the Lunds’ and Norma Tree’s motions to enforce settlement under Code of Civil Procedure section 664.6, and Chan appealed from the judgment entered thereon.

Chan makes a number of arguments on appeal. He argues, among other things, that because his former attorney extorted Chan’s consent to the…