Leary v. Julian

Smith, Judge.

This appeal requires us to harmonize two lines of precedent to determine whether the open court announcement of a settlement agreed to by the parties prevents a plaintiff from exercising the right to voluntarily dismiss a claim under OCGA § 9-11-41 (a). For the reasons stated below, we find that it does, and we therefore affirm the trial court.

The facts of this case are not in dispute. In February 1993, appellant Dennis Leary filed a complaint alleging fraud and deceit against appellee Sara Julian. The parties reached a settlement before trial, and the attorneys for both sides…