How to Increase Charges After a Settlement

Settlement agreements usually end litigation.

Settlement agreements are an integral part of the litigation process. In short, it allows both sides of a dispute to avoid litigation and come to an understanding, Thus, the dispute is "settled" and both parties walk away. The dispute ends once both parties agree to the settlement. This makes it impossible for a party to increase charges so long as the settlement agreement is enforceable. The only way to increase the charges alleged is to undo the settlement with a claim of fraud.

Instructions

1. File a new claim with the court that alleges fraud induced you into signing the settlement agreement. Fraud is the intentional misrepresentation of facts that results in injury to another person.

2. Assert that the fraud was material to the agreement. Said another way, explain how the fraud was central or important to the settlement and that you detrimentally relied on the misrepresentation. The facts that you allege are fraudulent must be directly at issue and not tangential. For example, it may be enough to undo an accident settlement agreement if one party lied about their intoxication. On the other hand, it is probably not enough if a party lied about their age.

3. Return the money awarded in the first settlement agreement. This is standard procedure when one party wants to rescind a settlement agreement. The rescission will completely undo the settlement, which means the settlement money must be returned.

4. Re-litigate the case with increased charges.

References

• Indisputably: Fraud in Mediated Settlement Agreements
• California Insurance Law Observer