united-states civil-law tort non-disclosure settlement
Can I disclose terms of a settlement when I don&#39;t accept it?
<p>I've been involved in a Mass Tort lawsuit against a drug company for several years. Recently, a confidential settlement agreement was reached between the law firm representing me and the drug company. I don't intend to agree to the settlement because the terms are simply unacceptable. My question is, if I don't accept this agreement and I cut ties with my lawyers, am I under any obligation to keep quiet about the settlement terms?</p>

<p>The case is being tried in New Jersey, but I'm located in another state.</p>

<p>Probably not.</p>

<p>It appears that in the case in question, your lawyers, while they were representing you, agreed to a protective order that kept certain information including settlement offers made to them by the opposing parties' lawyers (even if those offers were rejected) confidential. </p>

<p>You are bound by the agreements made by your lawyers if they are your lawyers at the time, even they later cease to be your lawyers.</p>

<p>So, if you were to make the disclosure of this information subject to a protective order, the court involved could hold you in contempt of court and issue sanctions (including fines and incarceration) for failing to honor the court order to seal the case, because this protective order was binding upon you, because you agreed to it through your lawyers who were acting as your agents at the time.</p>

<p>The fact that you are no longer represented by those lawyers doesn't vacate the protective order.</p>

<p>CAVEAT: This is an interpretation of the facts made with incomplete information. A truly reliable answer would require review of the exact documents in the case filed with the court which is beyond the scope of Law.SE.</p>
