Cases Under Review, Section 998: California Supreme Court Decides That CCP § 998 Costs-Shifting Applies To Pre-Trial Settlements

. . . Although The Parties Are Free To Allocate Costs Differently Under Their Settlement.

               The California Supreme Court in Madrigal v. Hyundai Motor America, Case No. S280598 (Cal. Sup. Ct. Mar. 20, 2025) (published) decided that CCP § 998 offers do apply to pretrial settlements, rather than just judgments or arbitration awards, for purposes of cost-shifting, although the parties can allocate things differently under their settlement.  Our state high court placed a lot of primacy on the section 998 underlying principles to encourage settlements.