Offer of Judgment: Does it get rid of the Counterclaim, too?

[cnoob]

Does an offer of judgment dispose of ALL claims--including the counterclaim of the Defendant?

The defendant in my case has made an offer of judgment, but the offer does not make mention of the counterclaim being dismissed. Counsel for the defendant says that if I accept the offer of judgment then all claims go *poof*.

I'm not so sure. I've gotten conflicting information about whether it does or it doesn't.

What say you?

[Leadhead]

I assume you're the plaintiff?

When a defendant makes an offer of judgment, they're saying "here's what we'll settle for". Now if the case goes to trial and you are awarded LESS than the offer, you must pay their costs after the time of their offer.

Let's say they offer you $3,000. You say no and go to trial. At trial, you're awarded only $1,000. You'd have to pay their costs from when they offered to now.

[cnoob]

I assume you're the plaintiff?

When a defendant makes an offer of judgment, they're saying "here's what we'll settle for". Now if the case goes to trial and you are awarded LESS than the offer, you must pay their costs after the time of their offer.

Let's say they offer you $3,000. You say no and go to trial. At trial, you're awarded only $1,000. You'd have to pay their costs from when they offered to now.

Thanks for the info. But, you didn't answer my question:

Does the offer of judgment (when accepted) dispose of the counterclaim against me?

I sued Party A. Party A counterclaimed and sued me back. Now Party A has made an offer of judgment. If I accepted Party A's offer of judgment, does that make their counterclaim go away or not?

Or is it the case that if I, as the Plaintiff, accept the offer of judgment on *my* claim, that the Defendant can still proceed with their counterclaim against me?

[Leadhead]

Simply contact the defendant and tell them you'll accept their offer (if you're willing to), as long as they dismiss their counter claim.

Or file a motion to dismiss their CC.

[Recovering Attorney]

you will each sign a stipulation discontinuing the actions you have against each other. This gets filed with teh court. Then you both sign a mutual release, which means all claims go poof.

You want a check, a stip, and a release running to you.

[cnoob]

In my suit, I asked for declaratory relief as well as monetary damages.

The offer of judgment only offers me money. It does not meet my demand so far as the declaratory relief.

With that in mind, how do I judge the value of the offer of judgment against the likely value of the court ordered judgment?

For instance, let's say I get $100 LESS in a court ordered judgment in terms of money, but I also was granted my declaratory relief. Does that mean that my court judgment exceeded the value of the offer of judgment or not?

[Recovering Attorney]

what declaratory relief? A court is not going give you an order telling them to remove items from a credit report.

FDCPA violations are 1000 per case, not violation. Unless you can prove actual adamges, which will necessitate documentary proof and expert testimony, I'd forget about everything else. Take the money, get a mutual relase signed, and bargain with them on the reporting issue. And bargain means this: If you have to take a little less to get teh stuff removed from teh CR, you do that. What is important to yo uin this case: money, the CR, or some kind of emotional succor? It better not be the last, for that is the root of all unhappy litigants.

[cnoob]

what declaratory relief? A court is not going give you an order telling them to remove items from a credit report.

FDCPA violations are 1000 per case, not violation. Unless you can prove actual adamges, which will necessitate documentary proof and expert testimony, I'd forget about everything else. Take the money, get a mutual relase signed, and bargain with them on the reporting issue. And bargain means this: If you have to take a little less to get teh stuff removed from teh CR, you do that. What is important to yo uin this case: money, the CR, or some kind of emotional succor? It better not be the last, for that is the root of all unhappy litigants.

Oh, no. You've got it all wrong, my brother. I'm not suing them over a credit report. I'm suing these people because I believe their practices violate the law and injure the public DELIBERATELY. I'm not out for money. I want them to *change their practices* and that's what my prayer for declaratory relief asks for.

I know that the FDCPA does not explicitly provide for injunctive/declaratory relief, however, considering what they're up to, I believe that declaratory relief is absolutely appropriate. And at least one piece of caselaw appears to concur. (Gammon v. GC Services, 162 F.R.D. 313 (N.D.Ill. 1995).)

With that in mind, I ask the question again:

How do I judge the value of a money only offer of judgment vs a court judgment that offers money as well as declaratory relief?

[cnoob]

Oh! And, there's also the matter of punitive damages. I believe with all my heart that I have proof of a pattern of behavior that should warrant punitive damages.

How does that play into weighing the value of the offer of judgment vs the court judgment?

[Recovering Attorney]

If you want to be a crusader, get yourself a class action lawyer. Nothing makes an industry change their practices like $1.00 damages for 2,000 ckass members, and $500,000 in legal fees. Otherwise, take their offer and revel in the notion that change starts with you and the others on this board.