Cases: Section 998

Costs/Section 998: $112,457.89 In Expert Witness Fees And Other Costs Affirmed In Contentious Prescriptive Easement/Easement Destruction Case

Cases: Costs, Cases: Section 998

  Compensatory/Punitive Award To Winning Plaintiffs Was Only $88,270.      This next case illustrates how Code of Civil Procedure section 998 can be a true costs-shifting statute of importance, given that the expert witness fees and other routine costs outstripped the compensatory and punitive damages award to the winning plaintiffs.      In Arnold v. Padrah, […]

Section 998: 998 Offer Invalidated Where Defendant Offeror Included A Settlement Release Which Was General In Nature And Extended Past The Claims Involved In The Lawsuit

Cases: Section 998

  Although Identification Of Releasing Parties Does Not Invalidate An Offer, Inclusion of General Release/Section 1542 Waivers Did Void The Offer. Freight train operations on the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad between Chicago and Clinton, Iowa. The rear brakeman signals the engineer to apply and release the brakes as a test. This is the "release" sign. 

Common Fund, Equity, Section 998: Winning Plaintiffs Not Entitled To Reduction From Settlements For Fees Incurred In Reaching Settlements Under Common Fund Theory

Cases: Common Fund, Cases: Equity, Cases: Section 998

  Setoff Language Of CCP § 877 Also Supported Result.     Tuttle v. Ukiah Adventist Hospital, Case No. A144759 (1st Dist., Div. 1 May 31, 2016) (unpublished) was an uncontested slip-and-fall case from a liability perspective, with plaintiffs obtaining several pre-trial settlements but eventually winning a jury verdict as to one non-settling defendant, with set-off

Prevailing Party, Private Attorney General, Section 998, Section 1717: Neither Borrower Winning $523.14 Nor Lender With Beating 998 Offers Were Deemed Prevailing Parties

Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5), Cases: Section 1717, Cases: Section 998

  Both Went Away Unhappy, We Assume.     In Russo v. Bank of America, Case No. D067623 (4th Dist., Div. 1 May 17, 2016) (unpublished), borrower and lender won some sides of claims in an impound dispute, although plaintiff borrower eventually won $523.14 based on a contract with a fees clause after seeking $795,000 plus

Section 998/Requests For Admission: 4/3 DCA Affirms Lower Court’s Refusal To Award Prevailing Defendant Expert Witness Fees Or Costs Of Proof Sanctions

Cases: Requests for Admission, Cases: Section 998

  Lots Of Monetary Awards Were Requested By The Defense, But Nixed. Above:  East bound Union Pacific railroad freight train waiting in a siding, Alray, Calif. Coming up through Cajon Pass.  March, 1943.  Jack Delano, photographer.  Library of Congress.      Ammari v. Union Pacific Railroad, Case No. G052290 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Apr. 28, 2016)

Costs/Section 998: 998 Offer Was Invalid In Requiring Plaintiff To Sign An Unspecified Settlement Agreement, While Mediation Costs Were Improperly Taxed Where Court Believed They Had To Be Disallowed

Cases: Costs, Cases: Section 998

  Matter Remanded To Reconsider Routine Costs Awardable To Plaintiff.      Sanford v. Rasnick, Case No. A145704 (1st Dist., Div. 2 Apr. 25, 2016) (published) involved a situation where plaintiff motorcyclist sued defendants owner/driver of a car. Defendants made a joint, unapportioned pretrial CCP § 998 offer of $130,000, but plaintiff recovered less after various

Section 998: 2/6 DCA Decision Construes New 2016 Section 998 Law—Retroactively Applying 2005 Amendments To Clarify That Plaintiffs Are Not Exposed To Preoffer Expert Witness Fee Exposure Under 998

Cases: Section 998

  This Is A Change From Prior Law.      Toste v. CalPortland Construction, Case No. B256946 (2d Dist., Div. 6 Mar. 2, 2016) (published) is an important 2016 decision construing an important 2015 amendment to Code of Civil Procedure section 998, the section relating to pretrial offers to compromise.      The most post-worthy portion of

Intellectual Property, Section 998, Section 1717: Prevailing Defendants Properly Denied Fee Recovery, But Improperly Denied Expert Witness Fees

Cases: Intellectual Property, Cases: Section 1717, Cases: Section 998

  No Need to Provide Declarations From Expert Witness Fee In Support Of Expense Request Under CCP § 998.      What happened in Nations Title Co. of Calif. v. Security Union Title Ins. Co, Case Nos. B250490/B253840 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Jan. 25, 2016) (unpublished), was that defendants won a jury verdict on a breach

Section 998: County’s CCP § 998 Offer Was Not Reasonable In Nature, Resulting In Reversal Of $12,028.33 Expert Witness Fee Award Against Losing Plaintiffs In Dangerous Road Case

Cases: Section 998

  Waiver of Costs Offer Not Reasonable Given Plaintiffs Had Severe Injuries and Expert Witness Discovery Had Not Even Commenced.      In order for offers under CCP § 998 to be held reasonable and in good faith, timing is everything – offerors need to make 998 offers at a juncture of the case where both

Scroll to Top