Amitrano v. United Health Grp.

Full title: Lorrie Amitrano, Plaintiff, v. United Health Group, Defendant.

Court: United States District Court, District of Arizona

Date published: Jul 17, 2024

No. CV-23-00144-TUC-JGZ (D. Ariz. Jul. 17, 2024)

Opinion

CV-23-00144-TUC-JGZ

07-17-2024

Lorrie Amitrano, Plaintiff, v. United Health Group, Defendant.

Jennifer G. Zipps United States District Judge

ORDER

Jennifer G. Zipps United States District Judge

Pending before the Court is Plaintiff Amitrano's Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement (Doc. 81) and Motion to Reopen Case (Doc. 82), and Defendant United Health Group's Cross-Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement and Compel (Doc. 84). For the following reasons, the Court will deny Plaintiff's Motions and grant Defendant's Cross-Motion.

On March 27, 2024, the Parties attended a settlement conference before Magistrate Judge D. Thomas Ferraro and reached an agreement in the above-captioned matter. (Doc. 78.) The parties' agreement was commemorated in a written document which all parties signed. (See Doc. 81-14.) Pursuant to the agreement, Defendant agreed to pay Plaintiff an agreed upon sum, half of which would be subject to Form 1099 and half of which would be subject to Form W-2. (Doc. 81-14 at 2.) As a pre-condition of payment, Plaintiff agreed to provide a completed W-4 Form to Defendant. (Id.) Thereafter, Plaintiff refused to provide her Social Security Number on the Form W-4, instead providing an Employer Identification Number used to identify a business entity. (Doc. 81-1, 81-13.)

Defendant cannot issue a W-2 check to Plaintiff without Plaintiff's Social Security Number. (Doc. 84-1 at 2.) The Social Security Number allows a company to comply with its obligation to withhold social security and Medicare taxes from wages and pay the company's share of these taxes. (Id.) Otherwise, the company may be subject to penalty. (Id.)

Courts have inherent authority to enforce settlement agreements, which constitute binding contracts. In re City Equities Anaheim, Ltd., 22 F.3d 954, 957 (9th Cir. 1994). Provision four of the settlement agreement requires Plaintiff to provide Defendant with a completed W-4, which includes her Social Security Number. The Court, in its authority, will enforce this provision. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED:

1. Defendant United Health Group's Cross-Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement and Compel (Doc. 84) is granted.

2. Plaintiff is ordered to provide to Defendant a W-4 with her social security number.

3. Plaintiff's Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement (Doc. 81) is denied.

4. Plaintiff's Motion to Reopen Case (Doc. 82) is denied.