An Ontario court has sided with a brokerage firm, which argued that a settlement it reached in a civil suit is binding and should be enforced.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled in favour of BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. in a case where it sought an order enforcing a settlement agreement reached between the firm and a trio of plaintiffs during a civil pre-trial. The basis of the original suit is not set out in the decision.

Under the deal, the firm was to pay $100,000 to the plaintiffs — Battista Di Gennaro, Franco Di Gennaro and Paula Di Gennaro — and the plaintiffs were to sign a release. However, the decision indicates that there was a disagreement over the wording of the release. The plaintiffs’ lawyer had his clients execute a release that deleted two paragraphs that had been prepared by BMO Nesbitt’s lawyer concerning issues of confidentiality and claims against third parties.

Ultimately, BMO Nesbitt’s lawyer agreed to the plaintiffs’ proposed release. However, he didn’t hear back from the plaintiffs’ lawyer, and was eventually advised by one of the plaintiffs that he had terminated that lawyer. So, BMO Nesbitt brought a motion to enforce the settlement, arguing that the minutes of settlement “reflect a clear agreement between the parties without ambiguity.”

The court’s decision, which was released on January 7, states that counsel for the plaintiffs argued that there was no binding agreement between them, and that what they had was an agreement to agree, but that this was open to further negotiation.

The court sided with BMO Nesbitt however, ruling that “a binding settlement was reached” on the terms set out in the minutes of settlement. “The case law, in my view, overwhelmingly supports the defendants’ contention that at the time that the minutes of settlement were executed the parties had bound themselves to the settlement subject to the execution of a release,” the decision states.

The court ordered the plaintiffs to execute the release within 21 days, and for the firm to pay the $100,000 settlement within 21 days of that. The plaintiffs must then agree to dismiss the action with prejudice and without costs.