Offer of Judgement

Question 1

Jones v. Dumrichob

Answer 1

Rule: An offer must be made in good faith to be valid

• Good faith means realistically reasonable; reasonable prospect of acceptance
• Offeree can assess validity based on the information at hand.

Question 2

Guzman v. Visalia

Answer 2

RULE: In the absence of an unequivocal rejection of a § 998 offer, the offer may be accepted by the offeree during the statutory period unless the offer has been revoked by the offeror.

Here, attorney said offer was “insulting” which does not constitute a rejection

• A party rejects an offer by putting it in writing or letting the offer expire
• Under 998, unlike contract law, a counteroffer does not cancel/revoke first offer

Question 3

Martinez v. Brownco

Answer 3

Rule: when there are multiple 998 offers (with none accepted) and judgment was not more favorable than either, court has discretion to award costs starting from the first offer

Question 4

Who is the Prevailing Party and what does this mean?

Answer 4

1032(a)(4): The Prevailing party is the party with a net monetary recovery or a defendant who obtains a dismissal

Except as otherwise expressly provided by statute, a prevailing party is entitled as a matter of right to recover costs in any action or proceeding (i.e., litigation costs)

Question 5

What happens when a party obtains a judgement less favorable than was offered?

Answer 5

If a plaintiff’s obtained judgment is less favorable than what was in defendant’s offer, then plaintiff pays defendant’s costs (from time of offer) (and may also pay defendant’s expert costs if it is not an eminent domain action), even if the Plaintiff is the prevailing party.

Question 6

Offer Format + Timeline

Answer 6

• Offer and acceptance must be in writing
  
  • 10 days from complaint
    
    • Offer expires in 30 days