dissenting:

I respectfully dissent.

Nothing in the law of Guam or California requires us to allow the guardian ad litem of a minor to repudiate a settlement agreement prior to court approval under the Guam statute. I would not let him do so. The majority’s holding affords the minor no greater protection. Should the guardian ad *1081 litem discover that the settlement offer was improvidently accepted, he should have sufficient evidence to convince the reviewing court that the settlement was not in the minor’s best interests. And the majority’s holding may discourage litigants from settling claims involving minors since the guardian ad litem is now free to change his mind until the moment the court approves it. I would hold that once the guardian ad litem has agreed to a settlement it must be reviewed by the court to determine whether it is in the minor’s best interests or whether the guardian should be allowed to repudiate it.

ORDER ON PETITION FOR REHEARING

For the first time, in their Petition for Rehearing, the appellees urge the applicability of section 1544 of the Guam Civil Code. 1 That section permits an injured person who has settled his claim within fifteen days after the date of his injury to disavow the settlement agreement at any time within one year of the making of the speedy agreement. The appellees argue that the tentative settlement in this case is not one of the class for which section 1544 allows repudiation, 2 and therefore, by implication, the guardian ad litem did not have the power to repudiate.

We reject such a statutory construction. Section 1544 deals only with the type of settlement known as a “rush release” and in no way addresses the question with which we are concerned: When can a guardian ad litem, on behalf of a minor, repudiate a settlement? Section 1544, to be sure, would permit a minor or his guardian to disavow a “rush release,” but it does not expressly deny a minor the right to withdraw from other settlement agreements after the institution of suit and prior to judicial approval. To preserve the traditional protections afforded a minor by the state, we decline so to construe it. Thus, as applied to the rights of minors, section 1544 is nonexclusive. Our reading of section 1544 is consistent with and, in fact, stems from the core of our decision, i. e., as to a minor, a valid, enforceable settlement agreement cannot exist until the agreement bears the court’s imprimatur.

Of the judges constituting the panel originally concerned with the subject case (CHAMBERS, ELY, and CHOY), Judges CHOY and ELY vote to deny the Petition for Rehearing and to reject the suggestion for en banc rehearing. Judge CHAMBERS would grant panel rehearing, but all three *1082 judges concerned vote to reject the en banc suggestion.

The full court has been advised of the suggestion for en banc rehearing, as well as of the addition to the Opinion, contained in this Order, and no judge of the court has requested a vote on the suggestion for rehearing en banc. Fed.R.App.P. 35(b).

The Petition for Rehearing is denied, and the suggestion for a rehearing en banc is rejected.

. Guam Civil Code § 1544 (1970) provides, in pertinent part:

. The accident occurred on January 2, 1973. The record does not indicate when the guardian made his informal agreeement. The agreement was presented to the Guam Superior Court for approval on October 31, 1974. In their Petition for Rehearing appellees concede that the tentative settlement is not one of the class of agreements eligible for repudiation under section 1544.