Offer Of Judgment Injunctive Relief In Harris
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FAQ
The Offer of Judgment rule is a United States tort reform law aimed at controlling unnecessary litigation and at encouraging settlement.
Even when the offer is well crafted, the major disadvantage of a Rule 68 Offer remains the evident lack of privacy. Once the plaintiff accepts your Rule 68 Offer and a judgment is entered against you, that document is a public record available to anyone.
Rule 68 appears at first blush to promote settlement by forcing a plaintiff to either ac- cept a proffered offer of judgment or risk paying the defendant's subsequent litigation costs in the event the plaintiff recovers less than the amount offered.
It can reduce Plaintiff's attorney's fees Thus, while the rejection of a more favorable offer of judgment does not preclude the recovery of attorney's fees by a prevailing FLSA plaintiff, it can nevertheless substantially reduce the amount of attorney's fees a court will award as reasonable.
Under the “offer of judgment” mechanism detailed in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 (Rule 68), a defendant makes a settlement offer to resolve the case. If accepted, the offer is filed at the courthouse and the case ends.
If, within 14 days after being served, the opposing party serves written notice accepting the offer, either party may then file the offer and notice of acceptance, plus proof of service. The clerk must then enter judgment.
If the plaintiff either (1) declines the offer; or (2) fails to respond to the offer by the deadline, then the offer is considered withdrawn. A withdrawn offer does not preclude the defendant from making a subsequent offer.
If, within 14 days after being served, the opposing party serves written notice accepting the offer, either party may then file the offer and notice of acceptance, plus proof of service. The clerk must then enter judgment.
