The litigation process is designed to facilitate settlement between parties. One option that can be used to encourage settlement is the formal offer process which is set out in rule 4.24 of the Alberta Rules of Court.
Formal offers can be made up to 10 days before a trial or application. There are number of requirements of these offers in the rule, but in general formal offers encourage settlement because they are supposed to be a genuine attempt at compromise.
If a party sends a formal offer and later gets an equal or more favorable decision, then the party that did not accept the offer has to pay double costs of any steps after the formal offer was sent.
If you require advice on this or any related matter please feel free to contact us.
The information contained in this article is not legal advice. No solicitor client relationship is formed through this article. The reader is encouraged to retain counsel for advice in these matters.
