Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division / New Jersey
Is an Unsigned Mediation Settlement Enforceable?
The New Jersey Appellate Division held that an unsigned settlement arising from voluntary mediation was not enforceable. Applying Willingboro Mall, the court concluded that a settlement reached through mediation must be reduced to a signed writing before the mediation concludes, whether the mediation is voluntary or court-ordered.
Case at a glance
- Court or authority
- Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division
- Authority status
- Court decision
- Jurisdiction
- New Jersey
- Subject
- Settlement formation; signed-writing requirement; voluntary mediation; settlement enforceability.
Procedural posture and result
Appeal from orders denying enforcement of an unsigned settlement agreement arising from voluntary mediation. The New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed, concluding that the signed-writing requirement established in Willingboro Mall applies to voluntary mediation as well as court-ordered mediation.
What happened and what the authority decided
The dispute arose from the sale of two nail salons. The parties voluntarily participated in mediation in an effort to resolve their business dispute.
During the mediation, the mediator prepared a draft settlement agreement. The parties did not complete and sign the agreement before the mediation concluded, and one party later declined to sign it. Subsequent communications continued to address contingencies and implementation issues.
Defendants moved to enforce the draft settlement, but the trial court denied enforcement. The New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed.
Applying the New Jersey Supreme Court's decision in Willingboro Mall, Ltd. v. 240/242 Franklin Ave., LLC, the Appellate Division concluded that a settlement reached through mediation must be reduced to a signed written agreement before mediation ends. The court rejected the argument that the rule should apply only to court-ordered mediation, explaining that voluntary and court-ordered mediation are not meaningfully different for this purpose.
The court also concluded that the parties' post-mediation conduct supported the determination that there had been no meeting of the minds establishing a completed settlement.
What this tells the mediator
In New Jersey, apparent oral assent or a detailed draft may not be enough to create an enforceable mediation settlement. Mediators should allow sufficient time to reduce all agreed terms to writing and obtain the required signatures before declaring the mediation concluded.
Practical guidance
- State at intake that New Jersey requires a signed written mediation settlement.
- Prepare a complete term sheet while every decision-maker remains available.
- Include all material contingencies, deadlines, releases, and implementation terms.
- Obtain signatures before declaring the mediation concluded.
- If signatures are missing, describe the document as a draft—not a completed settlement.
Mediator takeaway
In New Jersey mediation, finish the writing and obtain signatures before the session ends.