“Yeah, right!” Wait, what if it is really in the mail? The big question is what do you mean by “check”? According the Second District Court of Appeal in JLA Investment Corporation v. Colony Insurance Company, 2006 Fla. App. LEXIS 472 [Fla. 2nd DCA 2006] the parties, in this mediation agreement, settled their dispute by the appellee paying appellant $250,000.00 by bank or casher’s check by a date certain. All clear, right? Not so fast! Appellee timely delivered a check drawn on its corporate bank account. Appellant objected to the form of the payment, renounced the settlement and demanded $300,000.00 to settle its claim. Nice try [not really]. Appellant contended, as part of its defense to a Motion to Enforce a Settlement Agreement, that the agreement contemplated payment by an “immediately cashable” instrument. Not so said the appellate court. It’s a short, interesting opinion that’s worth reading to find out why not. Check it out [okay, I’m sorry for the pun]!
Seriously, what’s the agreement drafting lesson for us?
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