Q: Can I overturn a mediation agreement if there unclear deadlines, changes in terms and duress when signing
I signed a settlement agreement for a civil case partly to attorney's advice, of high trial costs, limited 60-day prep window and legal fees aren't awarded even won? I wasn’t told mediation document was a memorandum or the plaintiff didn't have a deadline to fulfill terms like removing a lien or payment. I assume the 30-day deadline began on mediation, since my attorney advised complete terms ASAP. A month later lawyer emails a second document to sign? Not only drafted by plaintiff, but the terms wasn't what I agreed to in mediation. I refused to sign. Then attorney schedules appointment dismissing any concerns about signing and I spend 3O minutes of going in circles refusing until finally my lawyer tells me if I refuse to sign "the judge will be mad"? Or I should sign if I want to remove lien, so I do. If I knew the terms were going to change or plaintiff not having a deadline to their terms, I wouldn't have settled in mediation. But is any of this enough to request to overturn?
A: you can certainly file a motion to be relieved from the mediation agreement, but since you were represented by counsel and signed the agreement voluntarily, you have an uphill battle on your hands. You should sit down with your lawyer and go over the terms and make sure you understand them before you filed the motion.
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