A CR 2A agreement is a settlement governed by Washington Superior Court Civil Rule 2A, and it becomes binding only when it meets one of three formalities: it is put in writing and signed by the parties or their attorneys, stated on the record in open court, or made in the presence of the clerk and entered in the court minutes.1Washington State Courts. Washington Superior Court Civil Rule 2A If a settlement’s terms are later disputed and none of those three boxes was checked, the court will not enforce it. The rule exists to give finality to deals struck outside of trial, so that parties who resolve their disputes can actually rely on the resolution.
What Makes a CR 2A Agreement Binding
Rule 2A recognizes exactly three routes to enforceability:
- The agreement is reduced to writing and signed by the parties or their attorneys. A party who signs directly, without attorney involvement, still satisfies the rule as long as the document is in writing and signed.
- The parties or their lawyers recite the full terms in open court, and the court reporter captures them on the record.
- The agreement is made in the presence of the clerk and entered into the court minutes.
In practice, most CR 2A agreements take the first form. A signed written document gives both sides something physical to review and keep, and it avoids the risk that a transcript later reads ambiguously. Attorneys typically include the case number, the full legal names of all parties, and clear headings for each term. Many also add a clause stating the document is intended to be a binding CR 2A agreement, which eliminates any later argument that the writing was just a preliminary draft.
The second route, an oral recitation on the record, usually happens at the end of a mediation session or a hearing when the parties want to lock in the terms before they leave the courthouse. The third route, entry in the clerk’s minutes, is uncommon but still available.
Electronic Signatures
An electronic signature satisfies CR 2A’s writing-and-signature requirement. Under RCW 1.80.060, if a law requires a signature, an electronic signature meets that requirement.2Washington State Legislature. Chapter 1.80 RCW – Uniform Electronic Transactions Act Washington defines an electronic signature as any electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to a record and executed with the intent to sign. That includes typed “/s/” signature blocks, digital signature software, and similar methods. General Rule 30 reinforces the same standard for court filings, recognizing both an electronic image of a handwritten signature and the “/s/ [name]” format.3Washington Courts. Washington General Rule 30 – Electronic Filing and Service The critical element is intent. The record must show that the signer meant to be bound by the document’s terms.
How Courts Enforce a CR 2A Agreement
When one side fails to follow through on a signed settlement, the other side files a motion to enforce. Washington courts review these motions using the summary judgment framework: the party seeking enforcement must show there is no genuine dispute about whether the agreement exists or what its terms require.4Washington State Courts. Court of Appeals Opinion – CR 2A Enforcement Standard The court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the party resisting enforcement. If the terms are clear and the signatures are valid, the court typically grants the motion without a full evidentiary hearing.
If the resisting party raises a genuine factual dispute about the agreement’s existence or a material term, the court holds an evidentiary hearing before enforcing. Simply regretting the deal is not enough. Washington courts have held that a litigant’s remorse or second thoughts about an agreement does not create a genuine dispute sufficient to block enforcement. When enforcement succeeds, the court enters a judgment reflecting the settlement terms, which the prevailing party can then use to pursue collection.
Attorney Fees
Many CR 2A agreements include a clause awarding attorney fees to the prevailing party in an enforcement action. Under RCW 4.84.330, when a contract includes a one-sided attorney fees provision, Washington law automatically makes it bilateral. The prevailing party collects reasonable fees regardless of which side the contract originally named.5Washington State Legislature. Chapter 4.84 RCW – Costs The breaching party ends up paying what they owed under the settlement plus the other side’s legal bills for the motion.
How Long You Have to Sue
A CR 2A settlement agreement is a written contract, so Washington’s six-year statute of limitations for written contracts applies. Under RCW 4.16.040, an action to enforce a written agreement must be filed within six years of the breach.6Washington State Legislature. Chapter 4.16 RCW – Statute of Limitations Waiting too long after a known breach can forfeit the right to enforce.
When You Can Still Challenge the Agreement
Overturning a properly executed CR 2A agreement is deliberately hard. Courts treat these documents like any other binding contract, so the only route to invalidation runs through traditional contract defenses: fraud, misrepresentation, or duress. If one party concealed significant assets during a divorce mediation, for example, that can constitute fraud. Washington requires proof of fraud by clear, cogent, and convincing evidence, a higher bar than the usual “more likely than not” standard in civil cases.
Mutual mistake is another recognized ground. It applies when both sides were wrong about a fundamental fact at the time they signed. The court examines whether there was a genuine meeting of the minds. If the language is so ambiguous that the court cannot determine what the parties actually intended, the agreement may be declared unenforceable. Vague discomfort with the deal, or realizing that better terms were available, gets you nowhere. Absent a recognized legal defect in how the agreement was formed, CR 2A settlements are permanent.
Two Situations That Change the Analysis
Age Discrimination Waivers
A CR 2A agreement that releases an age discrimination claim has to clear an extra federal hurdle. To waive rights under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the release must be written in plain language, specifically reference ADEA rights, and give the employee at least 21 days to consider the agreement, or 45 days if the settlement arises from a group layoff. After signing, the employee has a 7-day window to revoke.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 626 – Recordkeeping, Investigation, and Enforcement An agreement that skips these steps will not validly release the age claims, even if it is properly executed under CR 2A. An exception exists when the employee is already represented by counsel in a pending lawsuit that includes an ADEA claim; there, the rigid timelines give way to a “reasonable time” standard.
Federal Court Settlements
CR 2A is a Washington state rule and does not apply in federal court. The practical dynamics also shift. Under Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Insurance, a federal court loses jurisdiction to enforce a settlement once it dismisses the case, unless the court either retained jurisdiction in the dismissal order or incorporated the settlement terms into that order.8Legal Information Institute. Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins., 511 U.S. 375 (1994) The judge’s awareness of the settlement is not enough. If the dismissal order says nothing about retaining jurisdiction, enforcement becomes a state-court breach-of-contract action. Anyone settling a federal case should confirm the dismissal order explicitly preserves the court’s authority to enforce.
Tax Treatment of the Settlement Payment
How settlement proceeds are taxed depends on what the payment compensates. Under 26 U.S.C. ยง 104(a)(2), damages for personal physical injuries or physical sickness are excluded from gross income, whether paid through a judgment or a negotiated settlement.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 104 – Compensation for Injuries or Sickness Emotional distress on its own does not qualify as a physical injury, though the portion of an emotional distress award that reimburses actual medical expenses is still excludable.
Several common components are fully taxable:
- Punitive damages, regardless of the underlying claim.
- Lost wages or lost profits, taxed as ordinary income.
- Interest that accrues on the settlement while held in escrow or after a judgment.
- Emotional distress from non-physical claims such as discrimination or wrongful termination.
Because a single CR 2A agreement can bundle taxable and non-taxable components, the way the document allocates payments across categories matters at tax time. The IRS looks at how the payment is characterized in the agreement itself, so attorneys drafting these settlements often separate compensatory damages for physical injury from other components in the text of the agreement.