Senate Bill No. 713
(By Senator Caruth)
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[Introduced March 23, 2009; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding a new article thereto, designated §56-5A-1 and
§56-5A-2, all relating to trials; pleading and practice; and
providing a statutory procedure for an offer of judgment prior
to trial and assessment of costs in certain situations.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding a new article thereto, designated §56-5A-1 and §56-5A-2,
all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5A. OFFER OF JUDGMENT.
§56-5A-1. Offer of judgment before trial.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
prior to the trial of any action for damages, the defending party
may offer to allow judgment be taken against the defendant.
§56-5A-2. Procedure after offer of judgment.
(a) In order to encourage settlements between parties and
penalize parties who refuse to accept good faith offers to settle cases, when an offer is not accepted in full satisfaction of the
claim, an offer of judgment is considered withdrawn and may not be
disclosed to the jury. Evidence of an offer of judgment is not
admissible except in a proceeding to determine costs.
(b) If a final judgment is reached that is not at least
twenty-five percent more favorable than the offer of judgment, the
party refusing the offer of judgment is liable to the other party
or parties for all costs incurred in prosecuting the claim that
arose after the offer of judgment. If a final judgment is reached
that is at least twenty-five percent more favorable than the offer
of judgment, the party making the offer of judgment is liable to
the other party or parties for all costs incurred in prosecuting
the claim that arose after the offer of judgment. Refusal to accept
an offer of judgment, or acceptance of an offer of judgment as part
payment of the amount claimed, does not preclude a subsequent offer
of judgment.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a statutory
procedure for an offer of judgment prior to trial and assessment of
costs in certain situations in order to encourage settlements
between parties and penalize parties who refuse to accept good
faith offers to settle cases.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.