The litigation between appellant-plaintiff and appellee-defen-dants has already given rise to one appeal. In
Bishop v. Intl. Paper Co.,
The instant appeal concerns the counterclaims that appellees had filed against appellant. Those counterclaims alleged that appellant had breached a contract with appellees. The contract was the settlement and release agreement discussed in Bishop v. Intl. Paper Co., supra. Appellant’s alleged breach of that agreement was his reinstitution of litigation against appellees after settling with and releasing them. Appellees moved for summary judgment on their counterclaims, solely as to the issue of liability. Appellant also moved for summary judgment on the ground that appellees had suffered no damage. The trial court granted appellees’ motion and denied that of appellant. The instant appeal results.
1. “ ‘The law favors a settlement of differences and a compromise of disputed claims between parties’ ([cits.]). . . .”
King v. Lewis,
The terms of the compromise and settlement agreement between the parties to the case at bar are set forth in the opinion in the previous appeal and will not be quoted again here. It is clear that that agreement was “full and final” as to the entirety of the controversy which existed between the parties. As such, it was binding and enforceable by and against the respective parties to it. By reinstituting suit against appellees based upon that previously settled controversy, appellant breached the agreement, the clear intent of which was “to prevent [further] litigation” as to that controversy.
Sollek v. Laseter,
supra at 140. “It is undisputed that [appellees] fully performed [their] responsibility under the [settlement] agreement. . . . It is also undisputed that [appellant] failed to perform [his] duty by refusing to [honor that agreement]. . . . Therefore, a [judgment] was demanded for [appellees] as to liability. . . .”
Corrosion Control v. William Armstrong Smith Co.,
Appellant asserts, however, that pretermitting his liability to ap-pellees for breach of the agreement, no genuine issue of material fact remained as to whether appellees had suffered recoverable damages as the result.
As noted, appellees moved for summary judgment only as to liability, reserving the issue of damages. Nominal damages are authorized but not demanded for breach of a settlement agreement. See
Corrosion Control v. William Armstrong Smith Co.,
The trial court did not err in granting appellees’ motion for sum
2. Appellees’ motion for the imposition of a penalty pursuant to Rule 26 (b) of this court is denied.
Judgments affirmed.
