Deal papers and endings
Settlement agreement
The paper that closes a dispute by agreement rather than by decision. It records what is being paid or done, by when, and — the substance of it — what each side is giving up in exchange, usually a release of all claims connected with the matter. It commonly deals with confidentiality, whether either side may talk about the outcome, and whether anybody is admitting anything, which most settlements expressly say they are not.
- In the catalogue
- Deal papers and endings
- Where it can live
- Any of the 184 governing laws
Who uses one
- Parties ending a commercial dispute without going further.
- Employers and employees resolving a claim.
- Anyone who has reached terms and needs them recorded so the matter is closed.
What you are deciding
- What is being paid or done, and by when
- Exactly which claims are being released
- Whether the release covers claims that have not surfaced yet
- Whether anybody is admitting anything
- Whether the terms are confidential
- Whether either side may make a public statement
- What happens if the payment is not made
- Whether existing proceedings are withdrawn
Blanks you leave stay blank and wait in the room. Nothing is filled in from a guess.
The sections a draft usually has
- 1The parties and the dispute
- 2Terms of settlement
- 3Payment
- 4Release of claims
- 5No admission of liability
- 6Confidentiality
- 7Public statements
- 8Withdrawal of proceedings
- 9Breach and enforcement
- 10Governing law
A general outline, not a required one. What turns up in a draft follows what you described. A contract is written in the order a contract is read.
What people call it
The names this kind of paper goes by. They are here because people search for them. They also filter the catalogue. They are not a wordlist the door matches. At the composer you describe the deal in your own words instead.
- settlement agreement
- compromise agreement
- dispute settlement contract
- deed of settlement
- full and final settlement
- settlement and release
Questions people ask
- What does full and final settlement mean?
- That the release is intended to close everything connected with the matter, not just the claims already made. How far such wording reaches is decided by local law and by the drafting.
- Does settling mean admitting fault?
- Settlements of this kind almost always state that nothing is admitted. Parties settle for many reasons, and the document says so plainly to keep that on the record.
- Can a settlement be kept confidential?
- Often, though several jurisdictions limit confidentiality where the matter concerns particular kinds of wrongdoing. Ask a lawyer if confidentiality is central to the deal.
General answers about the document. Not advice about your situation. Not written about any one country.
Where it lives
A contract names the legal system it is governed by. That is a separate decision from which paper it is. You pick it at the door, from any of the 184 units in Governing law, including England and Wales, Delaware, California and New York.
You do not start from this page. Describe the deal in one sentence at the door. Read the draft back in plain language, in the order a contract is read.
Start it at the door →Related kinds