IC Enforcement of a Memorandum of Settlement
By All,
John Schafer, Deputy Commissioner of the N.C. Industrial Commission, sent the below guidance on the N.C. Court of Appeals’ recently published opinion Mitchell v. Boswell, No. COA19-1077 (N.C. Ct. App. Nov. 3, 2020). The case arose from a dispute over the enforcement of a memorandum of settlement signed by attorneys on behalf of their clients. The court determined that the statute governing superior court mediation, N.C.G.S. § 7A-38.1(l), requires that the settlement agreement contain the signatures of the named parties to the action. Mediators who serve in Industrial Commission (“IC”) cases should note that N.C.G.S. § 7A-38.1(l) is not applicable to IC cases; the statute governing IC mediations is N.C.G.S. § 97-80(c). Additionally, Rules 11 NCAC 23G .0103(g) and .0104(e) of the Rules for Mediated Settlement and Neutral Evaluation Conferences of the North Carolina Industrial Commission govern agreements reached during a mediated settlement conference.
All questions regarding the N.C. Industrial Commission’s Mediation Program should be directed to John Schafer at [email protected].