Kennedy v. Hyde
Texas Supreme Court
682 S.W.2d 525 (1984)
- Written by Jody Stuart, JD
Facts
Richard Hyde (plaintiff) sued Forrest Kennedy (defendant), and others not appealing, in trial court regarding a sale of stock in a bank. Kennedy counterclaimed. The parties held out-of-court settlement negotiations that resulted in the drafting and signing of documents settling the suit. All parties except Kennedy signed the documents. Hyde then amended his pleading to allege that Kennedy had entered into an oral settlement agreement despite Kennedy’s refusal to sign the settlement documents. Kennedy amended his pleadings to deny entering into any settlement agreement. The trial court ordered a separate trial on the existence and validity of the alleged oral agreement. The trial court rendered judgment against Kennedy, effectively enforcing the terms of the settlement agreement. The court of appeals affirmed, holding that Rule 11 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure (Rule 11) did not prohibit the enforcement of disputed oral settlement agreements.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Robertson, J.)
Dissent (Gonzalez, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
