Where’s The Dotted Line?

Defendant made an offer pursuant to Civ.Proc. §998 to settle the case for $100,000.49, and plaintiff did not accept.  At trial, plaintiff was awarded $77,986 in compensatory damages and $1,400 in punitive damages.  When defendant tried to collect his costs under the statute, plaintiff claimed his offer was invalid because the statute requires “a statement of the offer, containing the terms and conditions of the judgment or award, and a provision that allows the accepting party to indicate acceptance of the offer by signing a statement that the offer is accepted.”  The trial court found the section 998 offer was invalid because it failed to include the statutorily required acceptance provision.  Brushing aside defendant’s argument plaintiff did not show she would have accepted the offer had it been valid, the appellate court affirmed.  Perez v. Torres  (Cal. App. Fifth Dist.; May 24, 2012) 206 Cal.App.4th 418.