Settlement Agreement and Release

The Settlement Agreement and Release is a document by which parties to a suit agree to settle their matter out of court. Settlement out of court is a process by which litigants resolve their disputes amicably without the involvement of a court judge.

The courts in Nigeria encourage out-of-court settlement because it is cost-effective and saves time. Issues that can be resolved out of court include recovery of premises, debt recovery, etc. However, matters of public interest or public policy can not be settled out of court. This agreement can only be used when the defendant makes an offer to the plaintiff or complainant. It may include monetary compensation or other forms of compensation, and the defendant may be required to fulfill some conditions. Once the defendant meets the plaintiff's requirements and the parties agree to all the terms of the settlement, they can use this agreement to record their settlement.

How to use this document

This document should be used only when the parties have concluded on their terms of the settlement but should not be used during the negotiation stage. Within this agreement, the parties must outline their conditions for the settlement and the settlement offer and state the plaintiff agrees not to continue pursuing the legal action against the defendant.

After completing this document, it should be printed and signed by the parties to the lawsuit. After signing, each party should keep one signed copy for their record.

After preparing this document, the parties can present their terms of settlement to the judge presiding over the lawsuit and apply for a consent judgment. A consent judgment is a decision by a court of law that is based on the terms agreed by parties to a lawsuit.

Applicable law

Terms of Settlement are governed by laws regulating the parties' lawsuit and the court rules prescribe procedure for out-of-court settlement.

How to modify the template

You fill out a form. The document is created before your eyes as you respond to the questions.

At the end, you receive it in Word and PDF formats. You can modify it and reuse it.