A written settlement agreement reached after a mediation conducted pursuant to the Texas ADR Act is enforceable in the same manner as any other written contract. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. §154.071 (“if the parties reach an agreement and execute a written agreement disposing of the dispute, the agreement is enforceable in the same manner as any other contract.”) General contract law applies to a settlement agreement, whether reached as a result of a mediation or through the parties’ own settlement negotiations. Ortega-Carter v. American Int’l Adjustment Co., 834 S.W. 2d 439, 442 (Tex. App. – Dallas 1992, writ denied). Thus, except as modified by the parties’ contractual stipulations under Texas Family Code §6.606, which is discussed below, a settlement contract reached after a mediation has no legal effect different from one that is reached by the parties without mediation. Island Entertainment, Inc. v. Castenada, 882 S.W. 2d 2, 5 (Tex. App. – Houston (1st Dist.) 1994, writ denied.

Although there seems to be no case directly in point, there is some authority for the proposition that an oral settlement agreement is enforceable if the party seeking enforcement can prove the contractual relationship, the substance of the agreement, and a breach of that agreement. See, Hur v. City of Mesquite, 893 S.W.2d 227, 233 (Tex. App. – Amarillo 1995, writ denied). Admissible evidence proving the validity of the contract and its breach may be difficult to obtain, however, because of the confidentially related to the mediation process. See, Texas ADR Act, §154.053 ©. But in an appropriate case, it seems that the parties, if not the mediator, may be permitted to testify about particular aspects of the contractual relationship. Hur v. City of Mesquite, 893 S.W.2d at 232 (party allowed to testify that City’s representative had misrepresented that he had City’s authority to bind the City to the agreement.)

If the party seeking to enforce a settlement agreement seeks does so under the provisions of Tex. R. Civ. Proc. 11, the agreement must meet the prerequisites of a “Rule 11 agreement.” (“unless otherwise provided by these rules, no agreement between attorneys or parties touching any suit pending will be enforced unless it be in writing, signed and filed with the papers as part of the record, or unless it be made in open court and entered on record.”); see also, Padilla v. LaFrance, 907 S.W.2d 454. 459, 459, n.6 )(Tex. 1995) (oral agreement held unenforceable in such a circumstance.)

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