Leslyn Elizabeth Miller Ballew v. John Michael Ballew

In this appeal, we are asked to determine the validity of a consent judgment entered by the chancery court granting a divorce to the parties. At trial, the parties voluntarily submitted their case to mediation. At the conclusion of the mediation, the mediator dictated the settlement terms onto a tape recorder, and the parties acknowledged onto the tape recorder that these terms were the understanding of the parties. The chancery court found that this acknowledgment was a modification of the mediation agreement and that the parties entered into a settlement agreement. On appeal, the husband asserts that the chancery court erred finding a settlement agreement because the mediation agreement specifically required that the parties would not be bound unless a written, executed settlement agreement was entered into by the parties. Second, the husband contends that, even if an oral settlement agreement was effective against the parties in this case, he had properly repudiated the agreement to his wife and the chancery court before the chancery court entered its judgment. In addition, both parties have requested attorney’s fees on appeal. We reverse and remand for further proceedings and decline to award attorney’s fees to either party.