John Nadas and Greta Fails on Legal Stipulations

View "Mass. Appeals Court Says No To Legal Stipulations."

John Nadas and Greta Fails wrote “Mass. Appeals Court Says No To Legal Stipulations” in Appellate Law360, where they discuss the Massachusetts Appeals Court’s recent decision in Goddard v. Goucher.  In Goddard, the parties stipulated that they had entered into a valid and enforceable contract, but the Appeals Court rejected the stipulation, finding that the parties had never finalized an enforceable agreement and holding that courts are not obligated to accept stipulations as to questions of law or the legal effect of admitted facts. They explain that Goddard serves as a warning that, despite complete agreement among all parties, a court may reject and refuse to enforce legal conclusions to which the parties agree by stipulation.