Smith v. Fedor

809 S.E.2d 612, 422 S.C. 118
CourtCourt of Appeals of South Carolina
DecidedNovember 22, 2017
DocketAppellate Case No. 2014-001826; Opinion No. 5523
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 809 S.E.2d 612 (Smith v. Fedor) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smith v. Fedor, 809 S.E.2d 612, 422 S.C. 118 (S.C. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

LOCKEMY, C.J.:

**121Edwin Smith, Jr. appeals the trial court's order granting David Fedor's motion for relief from judgment, arguing (1) the trial court erred in refusing to consider the confidential settlement agreement in determining whether Fedor satisfied the confession of judgment, (2) the trial court should have considered the merits of Smith's motion for reconsideration even though it was not provided to the court within ten days of filing, and (3) this court should remand the matter to the trial court for denial of the motion for relief from judgment because the confidential settlement agreement is sufficiently clear, explicit, and unambiguous. We affirm.

FACTS

In 1998, Smith filed a lawsuit against Fedor, which resulted in a "mediated settlement" in 2002. As part of the settlement, Fedor executed a confession of judgment for $350,000 plus post-judgment interest to serve as security against the debt owed to Smith; in return, Smith released all claims and dismissed his lawsuit with prejudice. The confession of judgment provided,

5. The indebtedness owed by [Fedor] to [Smith] arose pursuant to a Confidential Settlement Agreement between [Fedor] and [Smith] dated September 17, 2002, in which the lawsuit ... was settled....
7. [Fedor] hereby authorizes the entry of an Order and judgment against [him,] and in favor of [Smith,] in the principal amount of $350,000, less any payments received by [Smith] from [Fedor] through the date of filing hereof....

**122The confession of judgment also stated it "may not be filed" until Fedor defaulted on his obligations "as set forth in the Confidential Settlement Agreement."

On February 27, 2013, Smith filed the confession of judgment and a partial satisfaction of judgment with the trial court. The partial satisfaction of judgment claimed Fedor paid $335,000 but still owed $15,000 pursuant to the confession of judgment. Fedor moved for relief from judgment pursuant to Rule 60(b)(5), SCRCP, asserting he had paid Smith more than $350,000, satisfying the debt. Smith filed a response to Fedor's motion for relief, stating the confidential settlement agreement required Fedor to pay a total sum of $400,000-$50,000 up front, followed by annual installment payments of $35,000 secured by the confession of judgment. Smith contended the $50,000 initial payment was not included in the $350,000 debt secured by the confession of judgment, *614and neither the agreement nor the judgment indicated the initial payment of $50,000 would be credited toward the $350,000.

On August 26, 2013, the trial court held a hearing on Fedor's motion for relief from judgment. At the hearing, both parties agreed Fedor had paid $385,000 to Smith; the dispute concerned whether Fedor owed Smith an additional $15,000. Fedor argued the confession of judgment stated only the amount of $350,000, he had satisfied the judgment, and was not obligated to pay any additional amount. Fedor entered an affidavit into evidence stating he "paid to [Smith] ... the sum of $385,000[,] that sum being in excess of the sum recited in [Fedor]'s Confession of Judgment and that the Confession of Judgment should be deemed satisfied." Fedor asserted the confession of judgment is final and the parties cannot "inquire behind the confession and seek to now reargue the merits." Smith countered that the parties settled for $400,000, as provided for by the confidential agreement, and Fedor still owed $15,000. Smith mentioned an affidavit from James Gilreath that stated the total amount due was $400,000 including $50,000 to be paid prior to the signing of the confession of judgment, but the Gilreath Affidavit was never offered or entered into evidence. Smith conceded Fedor had paid $385,000, but that included the initial $50,000 payment; thus, Smith maintained Fedor had paid only $335,000 of the amount secured by the confession of judgment.

**123Fedor objected to any introduction or discussion of the confidential settlement agreement, which he said was not in evidence, "full of scratch-overs and strike-throughs," and "not clear upon its face." Fedor contended "the confession of judgment ended the case" and was "clear and concise on its face" that the amount owed was $350,000. Smith countered that "the confession of judgment ... ha[d] to be read in the context of the [four]-page confidential settlement agreement." The trial court requested the parties submit memoranda regarding when a confession of judgment is satisfied and whether the confidential settlement agreement was admissible.

Fedor submitted a memorandum, in which he argued the confession of judgment was satisfied because the parties did not dispute that Fedor had paid over $350,000 and the confession of judgment receives the same finality as an order of judgment. Additionally, Fedor contended the court should not consider the confidential settlement agreement because the confession of judgment contained the "final word/judgment." Smith filed a memorandum, arguing the trial court should admit and consider the confidential settlement agreement because it met the exception to the parol evidence rule stated in Smith v. McClam .1

In the order granting Fedor's motion for relief from judgment, the trial court concluded (1) the version of Rule 43(k), SCRCP2 applicable at the time of the execution of the agreement rendered the confidential settlement agreement not binding on the court, (2) the 2009 amendment to Rule 43(k) was only prospective, and (3) the confession of judgment was **124satisfied based on the parties' agreement at the hearing that Fedor had paid more than $350,000.

On November 8, 2013, Smith filed a motion for reconsideration, arguing (1) Rule 43(k) is retrospective and the confidential settlement agreement is therefore enforceable, (2) the agreement is admissible pursuant to several exceptions to the parol evidence rule, (3) the agreement lacked any specific provisions requiring confidentiality and Fedor's default on the obligations contained in the agreement *615rendered any non-disclosure requirement no longer applicable, and (4) the confession of judgment prohibited set-off of payments.

On July 22, 2014, the trial court issued a Form 4 order denying the motion for reconsideration "because the [c]ourt did not receive a copy of the motion within ten days of the motion being filed." Smith filed a subsequent motion for reconsideration, arguing the original motion was timely because it was properly mailed to Fedor and the clerk of court and Fedor suffered no prejudice from the failure to provide the court with the motion within ten days of filing. Smith re-submitted his original motion and requested the trial court consider the merits.3 The trial court ultimately denied the motion in a Form 4 order on September 5, 2014. This appeal followed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

"The decision to grant or deny a motion for relief from judgment lies within the sound discretion of the trial court and will not be disturbed on appeal absent an abuse of discretion."

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
809 S.E.2d 612, 422 S.C. 118, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-fedor-scctapp-2017.