Burckhard
Burckhard v. Del Monte Corp.
Opinion
Opinion
Lambden, J.
Del Monte Corporation (Del Monte) appeals the trial court’s enforcement of seven settlements pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 664.6. The seven actions were consolidated for the purpose of this appeal.
Del Monte contends the trial court erred because (1) the litigants did not sign the alleged agreement, making it unenforceable under section 664.6; (2) the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board had exclusive jurisdiction over approval of the settlement; (3) no agreement occurred between the parties because Del Monte never had the requisite intent and a unilateral mistake voided the agreement; and (4) Del Monte should have received relief from judgment under section 473.
While this appeal was pending, the Supreme Court decided Levy v. Superior Court (1995) 10 Cal.4th 578 [ 41 Cal.Rptr.2d 878 , 896 P.2d 171 ] (Levy). The court in Levy defined “parties” for the purposes of section 664.6 as meaning the actual litigants rather than counsel of record. The litigants in this case did not sign the writings, and since we find Levy applies retroactively, we reverse. We do not need to address the other grounds for appeal raised by Del Monte.