The Stick and the Carrot: Martinez and the “last offer rule”

On June 6, 2013, the California Supreme Court decided Martinez v. Brownco (2013) 56 Cal.4th 1014.  The question presented in that case was this: “When a plaintiff serves two unaccepted offers to compromise pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 998, and the defendant fails to obtain a judgment more favorable than either offer, does the plaintiff’s last offer extinguish the first offer for purposes of expert fee recovery under section 998?” 56 Cal.4th at 1018.

Lead counsel for Martinez, Albro L. Lundy III, and counsel drafting the appellate briefs, E. Thomas Moroney, take up the importance of Martinez and its application going forward in:  Advocate, October 2013 (Journal of Consumer Attorneys Associations for Southern California); also published in Plaintiff (Magazine for Northern California Plaintiffs’ Attorneys, October 2013).

Update. Trial court ruling on remand.