Equitable exception to TRCP 11

“[Tex. R. Civ. P.] 11 provides that ‘no agreement between attorneys or parties touching any suit pending will be enforced unless it be in writing, signed and filed with the papers as part of the record, or unless it be made in open court and entered of record.’ The purpose of the rule is to relieve the courts of the necessity of resolving disputes over the terms of oral agreements relating to pending suits. As explained in [Anderson v. Cocheu], however, in enforcing rule 11 [agreements] ‘the Texas Supreme Court has been mindful of the fact that the rule may be said to abridge the substantive right of persons to enter into oral contracts.’  Consequently, courts have balanced the purpose of the rule with the ability to make oral agreements, resulting in recognition of certain equitable exceptions to rule 11’s writing requirement. One exception to the writing requirement arises when the oral agreement is undisputed. ‘In cases where the existence of the agreement and its terms are not disputed, the agreement may be enforced despite its literal noncompliance with the rule.’”  In re Estate of Powell, No. 05-19-00689-CV (Aug. 4, 2020) (mem. op.).