Parties can offer to settle at any stage of the proceedings - that will not change, and in fact it will be encouraged under the Woolf rules.
Defendants have always been able to make a payment into court as a cost-saving offer to settle, but Woolf now allows the claimant to make a 'payment' into court - a written offer to accept a named percentage of the amount claimed.
If it's a sensible offer and is rejected by the defendant, heavy penalties will be levied in the form of extra costs and extra interest on the judgement debt if the claimant wins.
For further information please contact Mike Henley, e-mail: Click Contact Link , Tel: + 44 113 284 7000
This article was first published in a special supplement to the March 1999 Hammond Suddards Commercial Dispute Resolution Newsletter
The information and opinions contained in this article are provided by Hammond Suddards. They should not be applied to any particular set of facts without appropriate legal or other professional advice.
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