Murcia Castillo v. United States
- Saundra Armstrong
- 4:21-cv-04720
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 7
In Murcia Castillo v. United States, Judge Armstrong ordered a settlement requiring $85,000 payment and later dismissal with prejudice of the claims.
Rony David Murcia Castillo and the United States, along with the other persons and entities covered by the release and settlement terms.
What happened
Rony David Murcia Castillo sued the United States, and the parties agreed to resolve all claims and issues raised or that could have been raised in the action. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims.
Under the agreement, the United States will pay $85,000. In exchange, the plaintiff and specified related parties will release their claims concerning the dispute, and the agreement states that the claims will be dismissed with prejudice. The agreement also addresses attorney fees, taxes, liens, and other settlement conditions.
The court entered the settlement order as modified and required a stipulation of dismissal to be filed within 60 days. Judge Armstrong did not decide whether the United States was liable; the agreement expressly says the settlement is not an admission of liability.
The detailed version
- Murcia Castillo v. United States · No. 4:21-cv-04720
- Saundra Armstrong
- Aug. 2, 2022
Background
Rony David Murcia Castillo filed this action against the United States. The parties agreed to settle and compromise every claim arising directly or indirectly from the acts or omissions underlying the action, including claims that had been or could have been raised before the settlement agreement was executed. The opinion does not identify the underlying claims.
Settlement Terms
The United States agreed to pay $85,000 as full settlement of the covered claims. The agreement broadly releases the United States, including its current and former agents, employees, and attorneys, and the United States Postal Service and its current and former agents, employees, and attorneys. The release covers known and unknown claims, including claims for personal injury, property damage, and wrongful death.
The agreement states that the plaintiff and specified related parties must dismiss with prejudice all claims asserted or that could have been asserted in the action. A dismissal with prejudice bars those claims from being brought again. The parties agreed to bear their own costs and expenses, and attorney fees connected with the action may not exceed 25 percent of the settlement under 28 U.S.C. § 2678. The agreement also addresses taxes, possible offsets for debts owed to the United States, liens, and the plaintiff's responsibility for certain non-government liens.
The agreement expressly states that it is not an admission of liability or fault by the United States, which continues to deny liability. It also states that the parties entered the agreement knowingly and voluntarily with the advice of counsel.
Ruling
The court entered the stipulation and settlement order as modified. It ordered that the stipulation of dismissal be filed within 60 days after entry of the order. The text does not show that the dismissal itself had already been filed or entered. Judge Saundra B. Armstrong therefore resolved the case through the parties' settlement process rather than deciding the underlying claims or the United States' liability.
Read the full 7-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.