Clark v. Elza

This case presents the question of whether an executory oral agreement to settle a pending law suit may be raised as a defense to prevent a plaintiff from pursuing his original cause of action. It also presents the threshold issue of whether a trial court’s refusal to enforce such a settlement agreement, where enforcement was sought in the underlying legal action, may be immediately appealed. We answer these questions in the affirmative.

As a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident, the plaintiffs, Floyd L. Elza and his wife Myrtle E. Elza, filed suit in the Circuit Court for…