What is an ‘Offer of Judgment’ and What Does it Mean for Your Case in Las Vegas, Nevada?

An Offer of Judgment is a special type settlement offer in a case where a lawsuit has been filed. What makes an Offer of Judgment different from a regular settlement offer will be discussed today. Offers of Judgment are governed by the Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 68 and Nevada Revised Statute, Rule 17.115. 

Both parties in a lawsuit can issue an Offer of Judgment. That means the injured party, as well as the at-fault party can issue an Offer of Judgment. In an Offer of Judgment, the party desiring to settle, issues a written settlement offer to the other side. If you are the injured party, you are basically saying to the other party, "this is how much I am willing to accept to resolve this lawsuit." If the at-fault party wants to settle, their Offer of Judgment says they will pay a certain amount to the injured party to resolve the lawsuit.
 
In both instances, if the party who writes an Offer of Judgment is able to obtain a more favorable award at trial, then they can ask the judge to award them attorneys fees and costs from the time the Offer of Judgment was made through trial. 
 
For example, if the injured party issues an Offer of Judgment for $7,000 and she gets a trial award of $8,000, then she has gotten a better award at trial. That means she can ask the judge to require the other side to pay her attorney’s fees and costs from the time the Offer of Judgment was made, through trial. The reason, is that if the other side had accepted the Offer of Judgment, then they would have paid less.
 
The purpose of the Offer of Judgment rules is to encourage parties to settle their cases before trial. Any time, at least 10 days before trial is scheduled to start, a party can issue an Offer of Judgment. The trial judge has discretion as to whether to award attorneys fees and costs of suit.
 
Next time, we will discuss how to serve a lawsuit on an at-fault party in Las Vegas, Nevada Court cases.