Settlement Agreements at Mediation Must Be Put in Writing and Signed to Be Enforceable

The New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed the Law Division’s orders denying the defendants’ motion to enforce an unsigned settlement agreement arising from a voluntarily-entered mediation.

The Appellate Division agreed that, in accordance with Willingboro Mall, Ltd. v. 240/242 Franklin Ave., LLC, 215 N.J. 242, 262 (2013), no agreement was reached because the parties did not sign the agreement before the mediation concluded. The court rejected the defendants’ argument that Willingboro’s holding did not apply because in Willingboro, the mediation was court-ordered and, in the present case, the mediation was voluntary.

Based upon the principles set forth in Willingboro, whether mediation is court-ordered or voluntary is not a determining factor in enforceability.

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