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| To request the Supreme Court to amend Rule 68 of the | 1 |
| Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure regarding offers of | 2 |
| judgment. | 3 |
| Section 1. The General Assembly respectfully requests the | 4 |
| Supreme Court to amend Rule 68 of the Ohio Rules of Civil | 5 |
| Procedure regarding offers of judgment to read as follows: | 6 |
| (A) Making an offer; judgment on an accepted offer. More than | 7 |
| ten days before the trial begins, a party defending against a | 8 |
| claim may serve on an opposing party an offer to allow judgment on | 9 |
| specified terms, with the costs then accrued. If, within ten days | 10 |
| after being served, the opposing party serves written notice | 11 |
| accepting the offer, either party may then file the offer and | 12 |
| notice of acceptance, plus proof of service. The clerk must then | 13 |
| enter judgment. | 14 |
| (B) Unaccepted offer. An unaccepted offer is considered | 15 |
| withdrawn, but it does not preclude a later offer. Evidence of an | 16 |
| unaccepted offer is not admissible except in a proceeding to | 17 |
| determine costs. | 18 |
| (C) Offer after liability is determined. When one party's | 19 |
| liability to another has been determined but the extent of | 20 |
| liability remains to be determined by further proceedings, the | 21 |
| party held liable may make an offer of judgment. It must be served | 22 |
| within a reasonable time—but at least ten days—before a hearing to | 23 |
| determine the extent of liability. | 24 |
| (D) Paying costs after an unaccepted offer. If the judgment | 25 |
| that the offeree finally obtains is not more favorable than the | 26 |
| unaccepted offer, the offeree must pay the costs incurred after | 27 |
| the offer was made. | 28 |
| (E) This rule does not apply to a civil action to which | 29 |
| division (B)(2) of section 2315.18 or division (A)(2) or (3) of | 30 |
| section 2323.43 of the Revised Code applies. | 31 |
| Section 2. The General Assembly respectfully requests the | 32 |
| Supreme Court to consider making the provisions of amended Rule 68 | 33 |
| of the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure regarding an offer of | 34 |
| judgment applicable to a demand made by a party that is a | 35 |
| plaintiff pursuing a claim, such that, if a demand is made to | 36 |
| settle the case more than ten days before the trial, the demand is | 37 |
| not accepted by the defending party, and the verdict is as | 38 |
| favorable or more favorable than the demand, then the defending | 39 |
| party shall pay the costs incurred after the demand was made under | 40 |
| the same terms and requirements that are applicable to a party | 41 |
| making an offer of judgment. | 42 |