Email Confirmation Constitutes Binding Settlement Agreement

In Forcelli v. Gelco, the Appellate Division, Second Department held that emails can be treated as enforceable agreements satisfying the requirements of CPLR 2104.  CPLR 2104 provides that an agreement is not binding “unless it is in a writing subscribed by” the party or the party’s attorney.  In Forcelli, a claims adjuster for one of the defendants sent an email to the plaintiff confirming that the plaintiff “accepted my offer of $230,000 to settle this case.”  In addition to holding that the email constituted a writing under CPLR 2104, the Court also held that the e-mail satisfied the “subscribed” requirement of 2104.  According to the Court, the email was “subscribed” because the claims adjuster’s name was typed at the end “under circumstances manifesting an intent that the name be treated as a signature.”