Civil Procedure
Jun. 26, 2026
A Section 998 offer more favorable than the judgment is, by definition, reasonable
Why Pineda's good-faith requirement undermines the settlement the statute was built to encourage.
David B. Wasson
Wasson & Associates Inc.Phone: (714) 368-0000
Email: dwasson@wassonlawyers.com
Pepperdine Univ SOL; Malibu CA
Most cases settle. The question is when, and at what cost.
Code of Civil Procedure section 998 (CCP 998) was enacted to tip that equation toward settlement and against recalcitrant parties by making the risks of rejecting a reasonable offer too high. It is, at bottom, a settlement statute. But to be effective, the rules must be clear, understandable, and enforced consistently and predictably. Every deviation from the words of the statute should be measured against ...
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