Get 1 Offer Of Settlement; Award Of Litigation Costs

A: When you are a defendant in a lawsuit instead of a plaintiff, there is the “cost-of-defense” settlement. You determine how much more money in legal fees you'll have to spend to defend the case all the way to trial, then offer that amount to the plaintiff to settle the case and stop the legal fees.

A: When you are a defendant in a lawsuit instead of a plaintiff, there is the “cost-of-defense” settlement. You determine how much more money in legal fees you'll have to spend to defend the case all the way to trial, then offer that amount to the plaintiff to settle the case and stop the legal fees.

A settlement offer under this rule may not be made until a defendant - a party against whom a claim for monetary damages is made - files a declaration invoking this rule when a defendant files such a declaration, an offer or offers may be made under this rule to settle only those claims by and against that defendant.

The result of a settlement agreement involves the responsible party paying a certain amount to compensate for the damages caused to the victim. Receiving compensation after a settlement for a personal injury claim might take: as little as five working days. somewhere between 14 to 28 days.

A well-negotiated settlement can leave you financially secure while ending your lawsuit quickly but runs the risk of undervaluing your claim. On the other hand, a winning verdict at trial can bring you the compensation you deserve for your injuries, but at the cost of a lengthy and overwhelming court battle.

For offers made by a plaintiff to a defendant -- a settlement offer is reasonable if the final judgment is more than 120% of the offer amount. Litigation costs are awarded to a defendant only as a setoff of the plaintiff's recovery.

Most contingency fee agreements give the lawyer a percentage of between 33 and 40 percent. So 40% is at the high end. In the majority of cases, a personal injury lawyer will receive 33 percent (or one third) of any settlement or award.

If the party making a nominal offer of settlement has an informed basis to believe that it has no liability (such as a legal argument that can dispose of the case on a dispositive motion), such an offer will likely be found to have been made in good faith.