County Court-Defendant made without prejudice offer can I.?
Discussion
Mates
Kitchen supplier in breach of contract, demanded final payment, instructed solicitors, threatened proceedings. They never rectified defect list, I gave them 30 days etc, got someone else in, I then served proceedings to recover costs, he has counter claimed, more solicitors letters (lots both ways, their fee is increasing no doubt). Defendant's solicitors have now made a reasonably derisory without prejudice settlement offer which includes dropping their counter claim (how nice). I have no intention of accepting anything less than the claim, my claim does take into account the final payment due.
So, can I respond to their 'without prejudice' offer, refer to it in writing, and if necessary include that in my documents pack when we go to trial/hearing, or is anything that says without prejudice not allowed/ignored in a hearing ?
Kitchen supplier in breach of contract, demanded final payment, instructed solicitors, threatened proceedings. They never rectified defect list, I gave them 30 days etc, got someone else in, I then served proceedings to recover costs, he has counter claimed, more solicitors letters (lots both ways, their fee is increasing no doubt). Defendant's solicitors have now made a reasonably derisory without prejudice settlement offer which includes dropping their counter claim (how nice). I have no intention of accepting anything less than the claim, my claim does take into account the final payment due.
So, can I respond to their 'without prejudice' offer, refer to it in writing, and if necessary include that in my documents pack when we go to trial/hearing, or is anything that says without prejudice not allowed/ignored in a hearing ?
catfood12 said:
Mates
Kitchen supplier in breach of contract, demanded final payment, instructed solicitors, threatened proceedings. They never rectified defect list, I gave them 30 days etc, got someone else in, I then served proceedings to recover costs, he has counter claimed, more solicitors letters (lots both ways, their fee is increasing no doubt). Defendant's solicitors have now made a reasonably derisory without prejudice settlement offer which includes dropping their counter claim (how nice). I have no intention of accepting anything less than the claim, my claim does take into account the final payment due.
So, can I respond to their 'without prejudice' offer, refer to it in writing, and if necessary include that in my documents pack when we go to trial/hearing, or is anything that says without prejudice not allowed/ignored in a hearing ?
1. You can respond to that offer.Kitchen supplier in breach of contract, demanded final payment, instructed solicitors, threatened proceedings. They never rectified defect list, I gave them 30 days etc, got someone else in, I then served proceedings to recover costs, he has counter claimed, more solicitors letters (lots both ways, their fee is increasing no doubt). Defendant's solicitors have now made a reasonably derisory without prejudice settlement offer which includes dropping their counter claim (how nice). I have no intention of accepting anything less than the claim, my claim does take into account the final payment due.
So, can I respond to their 'without prejudice' offer, refer to it in writing, and if necessary include that in my documents pack when we go to trial/hearing, or is anything that says without prejudice not allowed/ignored in a hearing ?
2. You cannot refer to their WP offer and include that WP offer (or your own WP offer) in the documents before the court during the trial.
3. At the end of the trial you can tell the Court that there are WP offers out there, and you would like to address the Court on costs before the Court makes their final ruling.
4. If a WP offer is successful then it will not be ignored. If this is the Small Claims Court, then such offers are not (I believe) considered. If you win, you get the court issuing fee back.
Hope this helps.
Typing on the move, so apologies if covered already...
I'd recommend you don't simply reject, but instead make a reasonable w/out prejudice counter-offer. The conduct of either party can be drawn to the Court's attention and a Judge isn't likely to be impressed if no attempts to find a compromise have been made (I appreciate you may well have already done this and acted reasonably). This approach may also result in getting a more realistic offer from your opponent.
I'd recommend you don't simply reject, but instead make a reasonable w/out prejudice counter-offer. The conduct of either party can be drawn to the Court's attention and a Judge isn't likely to be impressed if no attempts to find a compromise have been made (I appreciate you may well have already done this and acted reasonably). This approach may also result in getting a more realistic offer from your opponent.
HKGriff & CuddlyWudd.... Many thanks for both of your valuable and sage bits of advice. As you suggest I won't just refuse, I'll go back with a WP counter offer, a token off my claim and costs. They've done all this prior to submitting a defence, so we're a long way from a hearing. I now see the value too, of as much cooperation as possible leading up to a hearing. Thanks again chaps !
That sounds very sensible.
Whilst their offer might appear derisory to you, from their perspective it might seem like a legitimate attempt to reach a compromise before incurring further expense (e.g. drafting the Defence), or at least an attempt to get the ball rolling so to speak.
No matter how confident a party is in their case, there is always an element of "litigation risk": you don't know which Judge you will get or how they will interpret things on the day. There is also the hassle of actually having to attend Court and/or continuing to deal with matters until then, so if a reasonable compromise can be reached, it is generally better all round.
If they end up incurring further expense and get close to the hearing, they may be less willing to negotiate, so now might be a good time to make that offer and emphasise that you are making the offer in a genuine attempt to settle matters now and prior to costs escalating any further.
Best of luck.
Whilst their offer might appear derisory to you, from their perspective it might seem like a legitimate attempt to reach a compromise before incurring further expense (e.g. drafting the Defence), or at least an attempt to get the ball rolling so to speak.
No matter how confident a party is in their case, there is always an element of "litigation risk": you don't know which Judge you will get or how they will interpret things on the day. There is also the hassle of actually having to attend Court and/or continuing to deal with matters until then, so if a reasonable compromise can be reached, it is generally better all round.
If they end up incurring further expense and get close to the hearing, they may be less willing to negotiate, so now might be a good time to make that offer and emphasise that you are making the offer in a genuine attempt to settle matters now and prior to costs escalating any further.
Best of luck.
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff