A municipality brought a motion to enforce an alleged settlement agreement regarding insurance coverage and joint legal representation with a contractor and its insurer in a slip‑and‑fall action involving winter maintenance.
The municipality argued that email correspondence created a binding settlement requiring the insurer to provide legal representation for all potential municipal liability.
The insurer contended that any agreement was limited to liability arising from the contractor’s conduct and did not extend to the municipality’s independent negligence.
The court held that the communications did not demonstrate a meeting of the minds on all essential terms and that factual disputes remained regarding the scope of any agreement.
As a result, the court found no enforceable settlement under Rule 49.09 of the Rules of Civil Procedure.
