Rule 68.Offer of judgment

Rule 68 gives a defending party a structured way to put a settlement number on the table and shift the financial risk of turning it down onto the other side. More than 10 days before trial begins, the defending party may serve the adverse party with an offer to let judgment be entered against it for a specified amount of money or property, or on other specified terms, with costs accrued up to that point.

The adverse party then has 10 days to accept in writing. If they do, either party can file the offer and the notice of acceptance, along with proof of service, and the court enters judgment on that basis — no trial required on the terms covered by the offer. If the offer isn't accepted within that window, it's deemed withdrawn, and the rule shuts the door on using the rejected offer as evidence later, except in a proceeding to determine costs. Rejecting one offer doesn't bar the defending party from making another one down the line.

The consequence for guessing wrong sits in the last part of the rule: if the offeree goes on to obtain a judgment that is not more favorable than the offer that was rejected, the offeree must pay the costs incurred after the offer was made. That risk gives both sides a reason to take a serious offer seriously.

Rule 68 also reaches beyond the pretrial stage. When liability has already been determined — by verdict, order, or judgment — but the amount or extent of that liability still needs to be worked out in further proceedings, the party found liable may still make an offer of judgment. That later offer carries the same effect as a pretrial offer, so long as it's served a reasonable time before the damages hearings begin, and in no event less than 10 days before those hearings start.