Don't forget to sign your e-mail (at the bottom) A recent decision by the Michigan Court of Appeals addressed the UETA's effect on e-mailed settlement negotiations. In Kloian v. Domino's Pizza, LLC, 2006 WL 3824890 (Mich. App. 2006), counsel for a personal injury plaintiff negotiated a settlement with the defendant by use of e-mails. After the attorneys agreed on the essential terms, the plaintiff refused to sign the settlement papers. The defendant moved to enforce the settlement. The Court complied. On appeal, the Circuit Court held, first, that the e-mails contained all of the essential terms of the agreement and also contained clear indications of the attorney's assent to the terms. Second, the Court held that under the UETA, the attorney's inclusion of their names on the bottom of the e-mails consituted was the equivalent of "subscribing" the agreement.

In an interesting twist, the Court noted that in Michigan, settlement agreements must be "subscribed," which is defined as placing your name at the bottom of the agreement. A claimed amendment to the agreement was, thus, ineffective because the sending attorney had put his name at the top of the e-mail, not the bottom.

Labels: agreement, e-mail, email, signature, UETA

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