The plaintiff was self-represented for most of the litigation but had retained counsel for an exit pretrial conference in November 2024. The defendants were advised that counsel was authorized to present and accept offers. The plaintiff and the defendants ultimately reached settlement at the pretrial; the terms of the settlement were clear and included the plaintiff executing a release in favour of the defendants, the wording of which would be agreed upon by counsel acting reasonably. The plaintiff later refused to sign the release and rather than suggesting revisions or providing her own release for consideration, she instead advised of her intention to have the matter set back down for trial. The defendants moved to enforce the settlement.
Her Honour Justice Papageorgiou ultimately found that there was an agreement amongst the parties to settle that included all essential terms. She further found that counsel retained on behalf of the plaintiff had authority to enter into the settlement on her behalf. Her Honour also advised that there was no reason for the court to exercise its discretion not to enforce the settlement.
