Is there a deal, or not?

Ideally, lawsuit settlement negotiations result in a written agreement that all parties sign as final. But occasionally there are problems, as in the lawsuit between Bethany Christian Services and the State of Michigan. Bethany sued the State in 2024, claiming religious discrimination when the State failed to renew its contract with Bethany for refugee services. This past fall, as reported by mLive, the parties negotiated a settlement via email: Bethany’s attorney reportedly sent the assistant attorney general (AAG) a settlement proposal, the AAG “very gently modified” it and sent it back, and Bethany accepted the modified proposal. But the AG’s office claims that the case could be finally settled only after the Attorney General herself approved it, and she has not. So when Bethany went back to court last month to enforce the agreement, the judge determined that there ultimately was no settlement, and ordered the parties back to the negotiating table.

Negotiating with governmental entities usually involves seeking approval from parties who are not at the negotiating table. Although the negotiators may be elated with their deal, it’s not final until all the key parties have approved it.

An interesting side-note in this case is that the terms of the settlement were reported, because they were included in one of Bethany’s filings. Settlement terms are typically confidential.