A motion to enforce a settlement agreement asks the judge in your original case to order the other side to do what they promised when the case settled. It is faster and cheaper than filing a new breach-of-contract lawsuit, but it only works if the court still has authority over the settlement and if you build the motion with the right pieces. Everything below walks through those pieces in the order you’ll handle them.
First, Confirm the Court Still Has Jurisdiction
Before you draft anything, check whether the court can hear the motion at all. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America set the rule, and it is stricter than most people assume. A federal court does not automatically keep jurisdiction over a settlement just because the settlement led to dismissal. The judge’s awareness and approval of the terms are not enough on their own.
One of two things must appear in the dismissal order: either the settlement terms are incorporated directly into the order, or the order includes a separate provision explicitly retaining jurisdiction over the settlement agreement. If either is true, a breach of the agreement is effectively a violation of the court’s order, and the court has ancillary jurisdiction to enforce it.
If neither is true, the motion is a dead end. You would have to file a new breach-of-contract suit in state court, or a new federal action if an independent basis for federal jurisdiction exists. Pull the dismissal order and read it carefully before you do anything else.
What Has to Be True Before You File
Two things need to be in place. The settlement agreement itself must be enforceable as a contract: mutual agreement on terms, consideration from both sides, and parties with legal capacity. A writing is strongly preferred and sometimes required under the statute of frauds, particularly when the agreement involves real property or obligations that extend beyond one year. An oral settlement that the other side now disputes is a much harder case.
You also need a clear, concrete breach. A missed payment on a specific date. A refusal to sign a required release. A related claim that was supposed to be dismissed and wasn’t. General dissatisfaction with how the other side is performing will not carry the motion. Point to a date, a dollar amount, or a specific unfulfilled requirement.
Send a Written Demand First
Judges notice when a party runs to court without first asking the other side to comply. Send a written demand to the breaching party or their lawyer that identifies the specific obligation, cites the relevant section of the settlement agreement, and sets a reasonable deadline for compliance. Keep the tone businesslike.
Sometimes the demand resolves the problem on its own. When it doesn’t, the correspondence becomes an exhibit showing the court that you acted reasonably and that the motion was necessary only because the other side forced it. That record also strengthens any request for attorney fees.
What Goes in the Motion
The document has a predictable structure. Each piece does specific work.
Caption and Title
Use the caption from the original lawsuit: the court’s full name, the names of all parties, and the civil action or case number. Title it plainly, something like “Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement.” If you are also seeking fees or sanctions, put that in the title so the judge and opposing counsel see it immediately.
Statement of Facts
Tell the story in chronological order. When did the parties settle? What were the key terms? What was the deadline for performance? What did the breaching party fail to do, and when did the failure become clear? Stick to facts the settlement agreement and your exhibits can prove. Skip the editorializing about opposing counsel. Laid out plainly, the facts carry themselves.
Legal Argument
Explain why the court has authority to act and why the facts entitle you to relief. Start with jurisdiction. If the dismissal order retained jurisdiction or incorporated the settlement, quote that language directly. Then move to the substantive standard: you had a valid, enforceable agreement; the other side breached it; you performed your own obligations or were ready to. In federal court, this section often references the court’s inherent authority to enforce its own orders along with the specific provisions of the dismissal order.
Prayer for Relief
Tell the judge exactly what you want. If the other side owes money, state the amount. If they were supposed to sign a release or dismiss a claim, say so. Courts can order specific performance of the settlement terms, meaning they compel the breaching party to do exactly what the agreement required rather than simply awarding damages. You can also ask the court to award attorney fees and costs incurred in bringing the motion, particularly when the settlement contains a prevailing-party fee provision or when the court’s order has been violated.
Exhibits That Prove the Case
Every factual claim in the motion needs proof attached. The two foundational documents are the fully executed settlement agreement and, if applicable, the dismissal order that retained jurisdiction or incorporated the settlement.
Beyond those, attach evidence of the breach and your own compliance:
- Breach evidence: correspondence showing the other party refusing to comply, missed payment records, or proof that a required document was never executed.
- Your performance: canceled checks, bank transfer confirmations, signed releases, or other proof that you held up your end.
- Demand correspondence: the demand letter you sent before filing, along with any response or proof that no response came.
Label each exhibit (Exhibit A, Exhibit B, and so on) and reference the labels in the body of the motion. A judge who can flip to Exhibit C and immediately see the missed payment is far more likely to rule in your favor than one asked to take your word for it.
Filing, Service, and Timing
File the complete package with the court. Most federal courts and many state courts require electronic filing through the court’s designated system; courts that still accept paper filings take delivery at the clerk’s office. The filing date starts the clock on response deadlines.
Serve a copy on the opposing party or their attorney. Under the federal rules, service of a motion in an existing case follows Rule 5, not the more formal process for an original complaint. Acceptable methods include hand delivery, mailing to the last known address, or electronic service through the court’s filing system for registered users. If the party is represented, service goes to the attorney.
When you serve by electronic filing, no separate certificate of service is required under the federal rules. For any other method, file a certificate of service stating when and how the documents were delivered, either alongside the motion or within a reasonable time after.
In federal court, the motion and notice of hearing must be served at least 14 days before the hearing date, and the opposing party has until at least 7 days before the hearing to file opposing affidavits, unless the court sets a different schedule. Local rules often add requirements, so check your jurisdiction.
The Hearing and Who Has to Prove What
After briefing, the court typically schedules a hearing. The party seeking enforcement carries the burden of proving that a valid settlement agreement exists and that the opposing party breached it, under the same standard that would apply in a separate contract action. Bring witnesses who can testify to the agreement’s execution and the breach, and have your exhibits organized.
An uncontested motion may take only minutes. If the other side disputes the terms or claims they complied, expect something closer to a mini-trial with testimony and cross-examination. The common defenses are that no enforceable agreement existed, that the terms are ambiguous, that the opposing party substantially complied, or that the moving party failed to perform first.
What the Court Can Order
The most powerful remedy is specific performance: an order compelling the breaching party to do exactly what the settlement required, whether that is making a payment, signing a document, dismissing a claim, or transferring property. Money damages often cannot replicate the resolution the settlement was supposed to deliver, which is why specific performance fits this type of motion so well.
The court can also award attorney fees and costs incurred in bringing the motion. A fee-shifting provision in the settlement agreement makes this straightforward, but courts also have discretion to award fees under their inherent authority when a party’s breach forces unnecessary litigation. For settlements involving money judgments in federal court, post-judgment interest accrues under 28 U.S.C. ยง 1961, and asking for interest from the date a payment was due can add meaningful compensation for the delay.
When the settlement was incorporated into the court’s order, a refusal to comply is not just a broken contract. It defies the court, which opens the door to civil contempt. Civil contempt sanctions are coercive rather than punitive: fines, and in extreme cases jail time that continues until the party complies. Courts also routinely award the moving party full fees and costs incurred in prosecuting the contempt action. If the settlement was never incorporated into the order, contempt is off the table and the dispute is purely contractual. That is one more reason the jurisdictional language in the dismissal order matters so much.