Making an Offer of Judgment by itself is not an admission of liability. If the Offer is accepted, then the Judgment is entered by the Court.
Demand for Judgement or Offer of Judgement: Florida Statutes, §768.79, provides those who litigate personal-injury actions an interesting tool to help promote cases settling. The strategy is referred to as a demand for judgment or offer of judgment.
Here, the offer of judgment was silent as to attorney fees and costs, and therefore did not preclude the plaintiffs from seeking additional costs. Additionally, the court advised that any ambiguities in a Rule 68 offer of judgment are typically construed against the offeror.
An offer of judgment is a written offer made to the opposing party to resolve the plaintiff's claim on specified terms, with the costs then accrued. For instance, a defendant might offer to pay the plaintiff $50,000.00, plus the costs accrued by the plaintiff to that point in the litigation to fully and finally
It is like an option that you have for ten days based upon a valuable consideration. If you have paid for any option, you are entitled to it, and it cannot be withdrawn. The fact that the offer is made under these rules takes out of it the element of gratuity, and gives to it an enforceable legal effect.
Both parties may file proposals for settlement, so long as the proposal is filed and served to the opposing side no earlier than 90 days following the initiation of the lawsuit and no later than 45 days before trial. Further, should you wish to accept the proposed offer, you must do so in writing within 30 days.