$118,271.74 CCP § 998 Exposure Avoided By Losing Minor.
K.F. v. Los Angeles Unified School Dist., Case Nos. B276410/B277982 (2d Dist., Div. 2 Nov. 9, 2017) (unpublished) reiterates lessons for crafting a successful CCP § 998 offer, especially how one must be careful in asking for narrow releases and waiver of claims to insure a section 998 offer is valid.
Suing plaintiff minor lost a sexual assault bus claim against the school district, triggering a request for recovery of costs (mainly expert witness fees) based on school district’s rejected $50,000 998 offer made two years before plaintiff’s unsuccessful trial. The trial judge agreed with district, allowing recovery of post-998 offer of expenses to the tune of $118,271.74.
This costs determination was reversed on appeal.
District’s section 998 offer was invalid as a matter of law, based on this provision of the offer: “Plaintiff and her counsel will deliver to counsel for defendant a Full and Final Release of all Claims, which Release will include a waiver of Civil Code section 1542,” with the offer specifically citing section 998, as well as Goodstein v. Bank of San Pedro, 27 Cal.App.4th 899 (1994).” The key defect was that the 998 offer referenced a broad release whose terms were undisclosed and uncertain, given that they might attempt to release claims beyond those asserted in the lawsuit—critically distinguishing Goodstein. (See, e.g., Chen v. Interinsurance Exch. of the Automobile Club, 164 Cal.App.4th 117, 122 & 122 n. 5 (2008); Sanford v. Rasnick, 246 Cal.App.4th 1121, 1131 (2016); Ignacio v. Caracciolo, 2 Cal.App.5th 81, 89 (2016).)