A long, drawn out case, bitter discovery battles, pompous experts, on-again/off-again settlement discussions and … finally … a settlement. One of the hotly contested points of resolution is confidentiality. The agreement makes it clear that no one is allowed to breathe word one about the settlement.
And then it happens … one of the attorneys submits a case report to a periodical such as Ohio Trial Reporter.
Is that a violation of the confidentiality provision? Or isn’t it?
Attorneys who submit these reports tend to try to strip the case of identifying characteristics, such as one or both of the parties’ names. But is that enough? If the settlement agreement provides that the terms are to remain confidential, and one attorney reports any of the terms — such as the name of any party, the settlement amount, even the name of the attorneys — isn’t that a violation of the settlement agreement?
Are the attorneys who draft a settlement agreement bound by the confidentiality provisions?
If the attorney who reports the case to a publication misrepresents any of the terms of the settlement, isn’t that attorney risking his/her professional reputation?
There seems to be a growing trend of reporting confidential settlements. Perhaps there should be a growing trend, expanding the breadth and scope of the confidentiality agreements.
