American Safety Casualty Insurance v. Nevada Risk Management, Inc.

MEMORANDUM **

Nevada Risk Management, Inc. (“Nevada Risk”) appeals the district court’s enforcement of a settlement agreement that was reached in two lawsuits between Nevada Risk and American Safety Casualty Insurance Co. (“American Safety”): One of those was a state court action brought by Nevada Risk and then removed to the district court by American Safety on diversity of citizenship grounds, and the other was an independent federal action brought by American Safety against Nevada Risk. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 .

There is no dispute as to the sequence of events. In mid-March 2002 counsel for American Safety reported to the district court that the parties had reached a tentative agreement except for one issue, as to which American Safety was to deliver to Nevada Risk a list of what it believed were the latter’s surviving obligations under the preexisting contract between them — a contract that the parties then agreed had been terminated. Just a week later American Safety’s counsel faxed a draft copy of a settlement agreement and mutual release to Nevada Risk’s counsel, and a little over a month later American Safety furnished Nevada Risk with the promised…