Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Specific Performance of Settlement Agreement

From Nordica S.p.A. v. ICON Health & Fitness, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71385 (D.N.H. Aug. 11, 2009):

Under both New Hampshire and Utah law, specific performance is an adequate remedy when one party is in breach of a settlement agreement. Poland v. Twomey, 937 A.2d 934, 937 (N.H. 2007) (specific performance is appropriate relief for violations of enforceable settlement agreement); Sackler v. Savin, 897 P.2d 1217, 1220 (Utah 1995) (settlement agreements are favored by law and may be summarily enforced . . . [and] are governed by rules applied to general contract actions). Thus, if Nordica demonstrates that ICON has breached the terms of the Agreement, specific performance would be an appropriate remedy.

See also Warner v. Rossignol, 513 F.2d 678, 683 (1st Cir. 1975) (interpreting Maine law, the court characterized a settlement agreement as an "accord executory" and held that "if defendant did not repudiate or commit a material breach of the settlement agreement, . . .defendant is entitled to specific performance of the compromise"). The Second Circuit cited Warner with approval in holding that a settlement agreement was enforceable absent special circumstances, including a material breach of the agreement. See In re Air Crash Disaster at John F. Kennedy Int'l Airport on June 24, 1975, 687 F.2d 626, 629 (2d Cir. 1982)

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