Butler v. Merrill Lynch

528 F.2d 1390 Donald H. BUTLER, as surviving Trustee of the Fred E. Butler Estate Trust, and Donald H. Butler, as an Individual beneficiary, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH, INC., a corporation, Defendant-Appellee. No. 74--2377. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Dec. 22, 1975. Rehearing Denied Feb. 9, 1976. Iver J. Longeteig (argued), Runft & Longeteig, Boise, Idaho, for plaintiffs-appellants. W. Kenneth Jones (argued), MacGillivray, Jones, Clarke, Schiffner & Johnson, Spokane, Wash., for defendant-appellee. OPINION Before KOELSCH, BROWNING and GOODWIN, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: 1 Plaintiff appeals from a $5,000 judgment entered against defendant after the district judge ruled that the case had been settled for that sum. The plaintiff contends that he had not authorized his then attorney to make such a settlement, and that the judgment therefore must be set aside. 2 The district judge made a finding of fact to the effect that plaintiff had authorized the settlement, but changed his mind when a release form was presented to him for his signature. Although based upon affidavits rather than upon live testimony, the finding is…