Part 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules (the rules of procedure used by the courts) is designed to encourage parties to settle by making offers. Part of the encouragement is the prescribed costs consequences if an offer is not accepted or beaten at trial.

The High Court has refused to grant indemnity costs (which would benefit the ‘winner’), where a Part 36 offer was not accepted and was withdrawn 21 days after it was made. At trial, the claimant beat her own offer and sought indemnity costs. The Part 36 consequences no longer applied because the Part 36 offer had been withdrawn. A withdrawn Part 36 offer could play a part in assessing the reasonableness of the defendant’s conduct, but it’s not  comparable with a “living Part 36 offer” just because it had been beaten. Gulati and others v MGN Ltd [2015] EWHC 1805 (Ch) (24 June 2015) (Bailii).

For help with this and other dispute resolution issues contact Keith Hardington via kh@walkerfoster.com or 01756 700200.