Saakyan v. Modern Auto, Inc.

Opinion

ALDRICH, J.

Introduction

In this personal injury lawsuit, we deal with a narrow question concerning statutory offers to compromise under Code of Civil Procedure section 998. 1 The issue arises because this case was tried twice. The first trial resulted in a defense verdict and judgment for defendant, Modem Auto, Inc., which were then set aside by the grant of a motion for new trial. The second trial resulted in a verdict for plaintiffs, Oganes Saakyan and Gamick Paronyan. Following the second trial, the court denied plaintiffs’ motions for expert witness fees (§ 998, subd. (d)) and…