If a settlement agreement prevents the commencement or continuation of legal proceedings between the parties, this only relates to the subject matter of the agreement. It does not prevent one of the parties from commencing proceedings on a different matter (French Supreme Court., 16 October 2024, Nr. 23-17.377).
In a recent ruling dated November 6, 2024 – which we discussed at our last ’60 minutes’ webinar on December 3 – the French Supreme Court reaffirmed this principle. In this decision, an employee signed a settlement agreement with her employer after terminating her employment contract, in which she waived any legal action, past or future, related to the performance or termination of the employment contract. Subsequently, the place where she had worked was listed among the facilities eligible for an early retirement allowance for asbestos workers. The employee then brought a claim before the employment tribunal against her former employer, seeking compensation for anxiety-related harm caused by exposure to asbestos.
By signing a settlement agreement including a general waiver for any action related to the performance or termination of the employment contract, the employee was barred from subsequently claiming compensation for anxiety related to asbestos exposure, even if the inclusion of their workplace on the list of establishments entitling them to Acaata (early cessation of asbestos workers’ activity allowance) occurred after the signing of the settlement agreement.
This ruling illustrates the importance of clearly defining the scope of a settlement agreement and clarifies that when a clause stipulates that the parties waive any claims arising or to arise from the performance or termination of the employment contract without any explicit exclusion, this also applies to subsequent claims for compensation for damages.
The effects of a waiver within the framework of a settlement agreement may extend to facts occurring after the agreement and not included in its scope.
(The French Supreme Court, 6 November 2024 Nr. 23-17.699)