A Tale of Two Law Suits

Yesterday was an interesting day at our firm as both Paul H. Voorn, one of our trial lawyers and Murray Brown, our Paralegal had matters come to an end that involved Offers to Settle.

In Paul’s matter, he received the Judgment in a case he argued last week. Paul won 100% of the principal and interest as well as most of the legal fees. The key to the legal fee win was the fact that our firm served an Offer to Settle very early on in the lawsuit. Because the Judgment was better than our Offer (as we calculated it would be), our client was entitled to significant legal fees.

Our client also benefitted from the use of the Summary Trial under the Simplified Rules of Civil Procedure. As a result of selecting this method, our Trial was half a day in Court: a big savings in legal fees.

In Murray Brown’s matter, our firm had also served an Offer to Settle early on for slightly less than the full amount of the claim. The matter was on the Small Claims trial list yesterday and it may have meant a day of waiting around the Court to be heard. The defendant realized that it was more cost effective to accept the offer in the morning and our client received the benefit of being able to work the rest of the day and receive most of the money they claimed.

There are many other reasons Offers to Settle are important in law suits: if your lawyer refuses to consider them at all, it’s time for a new law firm.

Inga B. Andriessen JD