The court denied approval of a settlement for a party under disability due to significant deficiencies in the motion material.
These deficiencies included insufficient medical evidence to assess the injured party's present and future needs, lack of full disclosure regarding a companion tort action and any settlement offers therein, and inadequate details for the proposed allocation of settlement funds.
Furthermore, the court found insufficient information regarding a loan from counsel to the applicant and the fairness and reasonableness of the contingency fee agreement, which appeared to conflate tort and accident benefits claims.
The court also dismissed the request to seal the court record, emphasizing the high bar for such an extraordinary order.
The matter was to be re-submitted after the identified deficiencies were addressed.
