Safa Dabish v. Zak Essak

CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 25, 2024
Docket367893
StatusUnpublished

This text of Safa Dabish v. Zak Essak (Safa Dabish v. Zak Essak) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Safa Dabish v. Zak Essak, (Mich. Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

If this opinion indicates that it is “FOR PUBLICATION,” it is subject to revision until final publication in the Michigan Appeals Reports.

STATE OF MICHIGAN

COURT OF APPEALS

SAFA DABISH, UNPUBLISHED September 25, 2024 Plaintiff-Appellant, 11:13 AM

v No. 367893 Macomb Circuit Court ZAK ESSAK and PANORAMA PROPERTY’S LC No. 2021-001738-NZ LLC, doing business as VENETIAN GRAND BANQUET HALL,

Defendants-Appellees.

Before: RICK, P.J., and MURRAY and MALDONADO, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

Plaintiff Safa Dabish appeals as of right the trial court’s order requiring that he and defendants, Zak Essak and Panorama Property’s LLC, doing business as Venetian Grand Banquet Hall, execute a settlement agreement with release, mortgage, and pocket consent judgment, and dismissing his claims. Plaintiff argues that the trial court erred by requiring the parties to include a release in their written settlement because that agreement was meant to memorialize the terms of the settlement agreement made in open court, which contained no such release. We agree, and reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

As the issues raised on appeal are limited to the terms and execution of the parties’ settlement agreement, we will keep the background facts regarding the parties’ dispute brief. Plaintiff filed suit against defendants for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, fraudulent inducement, and common law and statutory conversion, alleging that he loaned Essak, as the owner and operator of Panorama, $372,000 for renovations to the property housing the Venetian, but never received repayment.

Following dueling motions for summary disposition, Judge Richard L. Caretti dismissed plaintiff’s unjust enrichment and common-law conversion claims. For the remaining claims, at a

-1- hearing on May 12, 2023, the parties put the terms of a settlement agreement on the record before visiting Judge Antonio Viviano1 as follows:

Court. Did you want to put the settlement on the record and swear the clients.

Plaintiff’s Counsel. Sure. Your Honor, the terms of the settlement are as follows:

The Defendant is going to pay the Plaintiff 250 thousand dollars in accordance with this payment schedule. The first payment being 90 days out from today, which is approximately August one.

I’m sorry, can we agree it be August 1, 2023.

Defense Counsel. The settlement agreement.

Plaintiff’s Counsel. Well, I mean, let’s put a date certain on it, if it’s okay.

Defense Counsel. September 1st.

Plaintiff’s Counsel. September 1st. The first payment Your Honor of $50,000 is going to be made on or before September 1, 2023. And I’ll provide counsel with wiring instructions, or if he is going to send a cashier check to my office, either way that is fine.

The remaining four payments will be made again in $50,000 increments. The next one being on or before June 1, 2024. June 1, 2025. June 1, 2026 and the final payment on or before June 1, 2027.

Of course, there is no prepayment penalty if they wish to make those sooner.

In the event there is a default on the payments and a payment is not made when it is due, then in that case notice will be required to be given to Rachel Badalementi, Michael Petrus and Bob Kirk via e-mail only.

And if the payment is uncured within 14 days of notice, then a pocket judgment for 372 thousand dollars will be entered by the Plaintiff pursuant to the settlement agreement merely by presentment to the Court with an affidavit verifying nonpayment and verifying that the notice and opportunity to cure have not been met.

Is that correct so far, counsel.

1 Relevant to the appeal, Judge Antonio Viviano only presided over the hearing in which the settlement was placed on the record. All other relevant matters were handled by Judge Caretti.

-2- Defense Counsel. The pocket consent judgment will be in the amount of.

Plaintiff’s Counsel. 372 thousand dollars, include a provision calling for interest payments of 12 percent per annum, plus attorney fees and costs for the necessity of collection of same.

There will also be a provision that says a credit is given for any payments previously made.

The pocket judgment is going to be on all counts, remaining counts in the complaint.

Of course, it won’t be entered if the payments are made. It’s only in the event of default.

And further security for the settlement agreement and the payments called for by the settlement, Your Honor, is that the Defendant Zak Essak is granting the Plaintiff a mortgage on the real property located at, located in Sterling Heights at 42300 Van Dyke Avenue. Property tax ID is 1010152015000 and currently the property is owned by an entity called Van Sterling Properties LLC; is that correct.

Defense Counsel. Yes.

Plaintiff’s Counsel. Okay. And Mr. Zak Essak is representing there are no other liens or mortgages on the property. That this mortgage will be the first secured lien position on the property and that he has authority to enter into the mortgage on behalf of Van Sterling Properties LLC by virtue of being one of its members.

Is that also correct.

Defense Counsel. On both points, yes.

Plaintiff’s Counsel. Okay. And again the security for the payment plan is both the mortgage and the consent judgment, if applicable.

Defense Counsel. So, and the only—

So all accurate. The mortgage is against the real property. The consent judgment is only against the named defendant, however, in the amount of the 372. The mortgage cap, the total amount of the mortgage is the 250. There is no interest on the mortgage, but there is interest on the pocket consent judgment that the Plaintiff will hold.

Plaintiff’s Counsel. And the mortgage that I will present to counsel for execution such that I will be allowed to file it on the title to the property is going to be a standard form mortgage. It’s going to reference that the parties, that this is security for a settlement agreement related to this case and that upon default then

-3- we’re entitled to all the recourse of foreclosure and everything else that an ordinary mortgage, would ordinarily have by advertising obviously. Do you, are you okay with that?

Defense Counsel. That is right. In the event that there is a dispute, Judge, over the terms of the pocket consent judgment, the terms of the mortgage, we would ask that we be able to come back to you to --

Plaintiff’s Counsel. Be the final arbiter.

Defense Counsel. The final arbiter. If for some reason you were not available, we would use Judge Caretti.

Plaintiff’s Counsel. Judge Caretti is fine.

Defense Counsel. To do that.

Plaintiff’s Counsel. And what that means, we can’t agree on a term that I just say is reasonable in any mortgage, he says it is not, we’ll let the Court make the decision and we are both bound by it.

Defense Counsel. Hopefully that doesn’t happen, but just in case.

Plaintiff’s Counsel. All right. I believe that is all the terms. I’m happy to voir dire my client just to confirm.

Court. Just one minute. Counsel for the defense, is that an accurate statement on the agreement of the parties.

Defense Counsel. Yes, Judge.

During voir dire, both plaintiff and Essak confirmed their agreement with the settlement terms as placed on the record, and defense counsel agreed the terms reflected an accurate statement of the parties’ agreement, neither objecting nor requesting to add terms.

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Safa Dabish v. Zak Essak, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/safa-dabish-v-zak-essak-michctapp-2024.