Youngs v. Conley

505 S.W.3d 305, 2016 WL 2731546, 2016 Mo. App. LEXIS 482
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 10, 2016
DocketWD 78515, WD 78601
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 505 S.W.3d 305 (Youngs v. Conley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Youngs v. Conley, 505 S.W.3d 305, 2016 WL 2731546, 2016 Mo. App. LEXIS 482 (Mo. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

Thomas H. Newton, Judge

Mr. Noah Conley, Ms. Stacey Conley, and Mr. Jamie Conley (the Conleys) appeal the trial court’s judgment enforcing a settlement agreement between the Con-leys and Mr. John Youngs. We affirm.

The underlying personal injury claims of Mr. Noah Conley against Mr. Youngs arise from an accident in which Mr. Youngs’s pickup truck struck Mr. Conley who was walking to school. At the time of the collision, Mr. Youngs was insured by a liability insurance policy issued by Viking Insurance Co. of Wisconsin/Dairyland Auto (Viking Insurance) with a policy limit of $25,000 per person. Viking Insurance sent a letter to counsel for Mr. Conley, stating, “[W]e are extending our per person bodily injury limits of $25,000 as settlement of the bodily injury claim presented by your client, Mr. Conley.” Counsel for the Con-leys sent a letter to Viking Insurance stating in part,

Through our conversations, I understand that your insured maintains liability insurance limits of $25,000.00 per person, per incident. Please allow this letter to serve as a demand for the applicable insurance policy limits of $25,000.00. In exchange, my elient(s) are willing to release and discharge your insured, John Youngs, for all past and future damages sustained in this motor vehicle accident.
Please let me know as soon as possible if your insured is willing to accept the terms of the proposed settlement. This settlement demand will expire on January 31, 2014 at 12:00 pm CST. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

In response, Mr. Youngs’s counsel sent a letter dated January 27, 2014, stating,

Your policy limits demand to Kelley Shook dated January 3, 2014 has been directed to my attention. Please allow this letter to confirm settlement of all past and future claims by minor Noah Conley against John M. Youngs with each party to bear its own costs and attorney’s fees for payment of the sum of $25,000, which constitutes the applicable policy limits.
[309]*309Your clients have agreed to execute a full release of all claims against John M. Youngs. We will prepare a release and circulate it to you for your review and approval. We need you to agree to identify all. known, valid liens and to provide adequate lien protection. We need you to confirm the names of the minor’s parents and the person who will serve as [next] friend. I will also need the minor’s birthdate and social security number.
As you know, this settlement will require court approval. We will draft court approval documents and circulate them for your review. I assume we will file the settlement approval pleadings in Clinton County, Missouri.
Additionally, I will need you to provide us with lien information, any agreements you have reached with lien holders and the distribution of attorney’s fees and case expenses you will be asking the court to approve.
If you have any questions, please let me know.

Mr. Youngs’s counsel then sent an email to counsel for the Conleys on January 31, 2014, stating,

Thank you for returning my call earlier in the week. I wanted to confirm that you received my January 27, 2013 [sic] letter concerning the settlement of the minor’s claim against' John Youngs. When you get a chance to get the information I requested in the letter please pass it along so I can complete and circulate proposed settlement/release documents for your approval. If you have questions, please let me know.

On March 19, 2014, Mr. Youngs’s counsel sent an email to counsel for the Con-leys, stating, “I wanted to follow up with you with respect to the status of the information that I requested so that I could complete settlement documents.” Counsel for the Conleys responded the same day, saying, ‘We are still working on resolving the lien.”

On April 28, 2014, counsel for the Con-leys sent an email to Mr. Youngs’s attorney, stating, “In response to your letter of January, 2014,1 am attaching confirmation (that I finally received) from the Department of the Army waiving their lien interest.” This email also contained Mr. Conley’s birthdate and social security number, confirmed the identification of Mr. Conley’s parents, and indicated, that Ms. Conley would act as Next Friend.

On June 9, 2014, counsel for the Conleys emailed Mr. Youngs’s counsel, stating that he had not received a response to his April 28 email and requesting the proposed settlement paperwork. On June 12, 2014, Mr. Youngs’s counsel replied, stating,

I have attached the proposed settlement documents that we have drafted. Please review and let me know if these are agreeable. I also need a W9 for your firm so that I can have the settlement check issued. I am not sure how you are handling the net settlement proceeds. Are you going to put them in a restricted bank account, structure the money or establish a conservatorship? I guessed given the amount that you may want to go with a restricted bank account. Let me know your thoughts so that we can get the settlement check ordered, get the pleadings on file and.get a hearing date for the approval hearing.
If you have any questions, please let me know.

The proposed settlement documents included a General Release of All Claims Subject to Reservation of Specific Claims and Agreement to Defend, Indemnify and Hold Harmless (Proposed General Release and Agreement to Indemnify). This document included the following release language:

[310]*310The UNDERSIGNED, Stacey Conley, as the natural mother and Next Friend of Noah Conley, and Jamie Conley, as the natural father of Noah Conley, for the sole consideration of Twenty Five Thousand and 00/100ths Dollars ($25,000.00) on behalf of John E. Youngs, Sentry Insurance Group, Sentry Select Insurance Company, Yiking Insurance Company of Wisconsin, and Dairyland Insurance Company (collectively “Released Parties”), the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, do hereby and for their hems, executors, administrators, representatives, successors and assigns
RELEASE, ACQUIT, AND FOREVER DISCHARGE
John E.

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Bluebook (online)
505 S.W.3d 305, 2016 WL 2731546, 2016 Mo. App. LEXIS 482, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/youngs-v-conley-moctapp-2016.