Angelina Velazquez v. Courtyard Management Corp. ( 2019 )


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  •                            NOT FOR PUBLICATION                           FILED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS                        JUN 18 2019
    MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
    U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
    ANGELINA VELAZQUEZ,                             Nos. 18-35330
    18-35718
    Plaintiff-Appellant,
    D.C. No. 3:16-cv-01438-SB
    v.
    COURTYARD MANAGEMENT                            MEMORANDUM*
    CORPORATION,
    Defendant-Appellee.
    Appeals from the United States District Court
    for the District of Oregon
    Michael H. Simon, District Judge, Presiding
    Submitted June 11, 2019**
    Before:      CANBY, GRABER, and MURGUIA, Circuit Judges.
    In these consolidated appeals, Angelina Velazquez appeals pro se from the
    district court’s summary judgment in her employment action alleging federal and
    state law claims. We have jurisdiction under 
    28 U.S.C. § 1291
    . We review de
    novo. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Davis, 
    7 F.3d 180
    , 182 (9th Cir. 1993).
    *
    This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
    except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
    **
    The panel unanimously concludes these cases are suitable for decision
    without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
    We affirm.
    The district court properly granted summary judgment because Velazquez’s
    action is barred by the settlement agreement between Velazquez and defendant’s
    parent company, Marriott International, Inc. See Pioneer Resources, LLC v. D.R.
    Johnson Lumber Co., 
    68 P.3d 233
    , 242 (Or. App. 2003) (“Releases are a species of
    settlement agreement and, as such, are favored by the law.”); Patterson v. Am.
    Med. Sys. Inc., 
    916 P.2d 881
    , 882 (Or. App. 1996) (if a release’s terms
    “unambiguously express the intent of the parties, [the release] must be enforced
    accordingly”); see also Botefur v. City of Eagle Point, 
    7 F.3d 152
    , 156 (9th Cir.
    1993) (interpretation of a settlement agreement is governed by principles of state
    contract law).
    The district court did not abuse its discretion in awarding attorney’s fees and
    costs to defendant because the settlement agreement expressly provided for such an
    award. See Cline v. Indus. Maint. Eng’g & Contracting Co., 
    200 F.3d 1223
    , 1235
    (9th Cir. 2000) (standard of review).
    We reject as unsupported by the record Velazquez’s contentions that the
    district court did not consider her evidence and that the district court ordered
    mediation which never occurred.
    AFFIRMED.
    2                                        18-35330