Gautam v. Hicks

¶1 — A party who appeals the award in a mandatory arbitration and fails to improve his position on trial de novo must pay the attorney fees incurred by the nonappealing party. An offer of compromise by the nonappealing party will replace the amount of the arbitrator’s award for the purpose of determining whether the appealing party has improved his position. Here, the plaintiffs — a husband with a claim for personal injuries and a wife with a claim for loss of consortium — offered to settle both claims for $32,000, a total amount not delineated by claim. The jury awarded $30,000 to the…