Grabowski v. Pine Tree Indus. Corp.
This appeal is the latest installment in the Grabowski family dispute that has been in litigation since 1996. For convenience, we will refer to the individual litigants by their first names. They include: Patrick Grabowski (Patrick), his wife Janis Grabowski (Janis), their four now adult children, and Patricks younger brother, Laurence L. Grabowski (Larry). Larry is the respondent in this appeal. Corporate litigants include Pine Tree Industrial Corporation (Pine Tree), a corporation owned by Patrick, Janis, and Larry, and La Paz Petroleum, Inc. (La Paz), a corporation owned by Patrick and Janiss four children. Pine Tree and La Paz are the appellants. Larry sued Patrick, Patricks family, Pine Tree, and La Paz seeking dissolution and accounting of his and Patricks 40‑year business relationship. Patrick, Janis, and La Paz filed cross‑complaints against Larry. Following a bench trial, the court entered judgments as to Pine Tree and La Paz. As to Patrick and his family, the court entered an interim judgment for an accounting by Patrick, which has yet to be completed. Pine Tree and La Paz appeal from the judgments concerning them, contending the court erred by denying a motion under Code of Civil Procedure section 664.6 to enforce a global settlement of the dispute reached during trial. Court conclude the court erred by refusing to hear and rule on the motion. Accordingly, we reverse the judgments and remand for further proceedings.
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