Can a series of emails constitute an enforceable settlement agreement? Yes, but it depends.

In Matter of Phila. Ins. Indem. Co. v. Kendall, 197 A.D.3d 75 (1st Dep’t 2021), the First Department granted a party’s request for specific performance of a settlement agreement when the emails exchanged between attorneys were subscribed to and contained the material terms of settlement. The issue was whether CPLR 2104’s subscription requirement can be met in an email containing counsel’s prepopulated name in contrast to a printed name at the end of the email message. The court indicated “yes”, stating: “[T]his distinction between prepopulated and retyped signatures in email reflects a needless formality that does not reflect how law is commonly practiced today. It is not the signoff that indicates whether the parties intended to reach a settlement via email, but rather the fact that the email was sent.”

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