We have all seen the game show “Deal or No Deal” on television, rife with models, suitcases filled with cash and quirky hosts. While fleetingly entertaining, at the heart of the show is the very basic premise: “Do we have a deal?” This question is critically important because the unspoken understanding is that once the contestant says “we have a deal,” there is a meeting of the minds and simply no turning back.
Unfortunately, making a deal in Pennsylvania is not this straightforward. The current case law allows an attorney to state an agreement has been reached, but later negate the agreement by claiming the client never gave express consent to certain elements of the settlement. Any party seeking to enforce the settlement under the above fact pattern would need to produce evidence that the opposing counsel’s client had agreed to all the terms of the settlement due to the doctrine of “express authority” that controls in this state.
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