How much is awarded in attorney fees to a plaintiff under Georgia’s offer of judgment statute cannot be based solely on a contingency agreement the plaintiff has with a lawyer, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled Monday.
The offer of judgement statute says that a party who rejects a settlement offer, then doesn’t do much better when the case is decided in court, may have to pay the other side’s fees from the date of the rejection of the offer through the entry of judgment in the case. The law, adopted by the Legislature in 2005 as part of a tort reform package, is supposed to deter frivolous lawsuits and encourage settlement. Some plaintiffs lawyers spoke out against the rule when it was challenged, unsuccessfully, as unconstitutional. But plaintiffs and their lawyers have discovered that the rule is a useful tool for them, as well.
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