Pappas

BACKGROUND

The General Setting, the Settlement at Mediation, and the Aftermath In June 2016, Dr. Chang, a board-certified plastic surgeon, performed cosmetic surgery on the upper and lower eyelids of both of Pappas’s eyes, in a procedure technically known as blepharoplasty. In September 2017, represented by attorney Constantine Panagotacos, Pappas made a demand for arbitration, pursuant to the parties’ patient- physician agreement, alleging that Dr. Chang had been negligent in her care and treatment of Pappas. The parties agreed to participate in mediation, which resulted in a settlement agreement signed on June 29, 2018. That agreement, executed by both parties and their attorneys, was 24-lines long, with these five substantive paragraphs: “1. [Dr. Chang] will pay [Pappas] the total sum of $100,000.00. “2. [Pappas] will execute a release of all claims, including waiver of Civil Code [section] 1542, in a more comprehensive settlement agreement and file a Request for Dismissal with Prejudice; said release to include a provision for mutual confidentiality as to the facts of the underlying case, the terms and amount of this agreement. This confidentiality includes, but is not…