Lands' End, Inc. v. City of Dodgeville

¶ 187. (dissenting). For more than 150 years, the Wisconsin Legislature has sought to promote pretrial settlement and hold down costs in civil litigation.

¶ 188. The state's early statutes permitted a defendant to offer the plaintiff a specific judgment against the defendant. If the plaintiff accepted the offer and filed the appropriate papers, the plaintiff could have judgment against the defendant almost immediately. If the plaintiff declined the offer, however, and then failed to recover "a more favorable judgment," the plaintiff was required to pay the defendant's costs from the time of…