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  • offer of settlement rejected due to format?

    Hi all, I wrote out an offer of settlement, and sent it to my ex. He rejected it because it was not in the proper format? can anyone advice? i'm not sure what i did wrong? or is he just being difficult?

  • #2
    It needs to follow Rule 18 of the Family Law Rules.

    There is no set form or format... I believe the main thing is it has to be signed by you and your lawyer (if you have one).

    RULE 18: OFFERS TO SETTLE
    DEFINITION
    <!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .tribunaux judiciaires (Loi sur les) - Règl. de l'Ont. 114/99. -->18. <!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .tribunaux judiciaires (Loi sur les) - Règl. de l'Ont. 114/99. -->(1) In this rule,
    “offer” means an offer to settle one or more claims in a case, motion, appeal or enforcement, and includes a counter-offer. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 18 (1).
    APPLICATION
    <!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .tribunaux judiciaires (Loi sur les) - Règl. de l'Ont. 114/99. -->(2) This rule applies to an offer made at any time, even before the case is started. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 18 (2).
    MAKING AN OFFER
    <!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .tribunaux judiciaires (Loi sur les) - Règl. de l'Ont. 114/99. -->(3) A party may serve an offer on any other party. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 18 (3).
    OFFER TO BE SIGNED BY PARTY AND LAWYER
    <!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .tribunaux judiciaires (Loi sur les) - Règl. de l'Ont. 114/99. -->(4) An offer shall be signed personally by the party making it and also by the party’s lawyer, if any. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 18 (4).
    WITHDRAWING AN OFFER
    <!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .tribunaux judiciaires (Loi sur les) - Règl. de l'Ont. 114/99. -->(5) A party who made an offer may withdraw it by serving a notice of withdrawal, at any time before the offer is accepted. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 18 (5).
    TIME-LIMITED OFFER
    <!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .tribunaux judiciaires (Loi sur les) - Règl. de l'Ont. 114/99. -->(6) An offer that is not accepted within the time set out in the offer is considered to have been withdrawn. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 18 (6).
    OFFER EXPIRES WHEN COURT BEGINS TO GIVE DECISION
    <!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .tribunaux judiciaires (Loi sur les) - Règl. de l'Ont. 114/99. -->(7) An offer may not be accepted after the court begins to give a decision that disposes of a claim dealt with in the offer. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 18 (7).
    CONFIDENTIALITY OF OFFER
    <!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .tribunaux judiciaires (Loi sur les) - Règl. de l'Ont. 114/99. -->(8) The terms of an offer,
    (a) shall not be mentioned in any document filed in the continuing record; and
    (b) shall not be mentioned to the judge hearing the claim dealt with in the offer, until the judge has dealt with all the issues in dispute except costs. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 18 (8).
    ACCEPTING AN OFFER
    <!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .tribunaux judiciaires (Loi sur les) - Règl. de l'Ont. 114/99. -->(9) The only valid way of accepting an offer is by serving an acceptance on the party who made the offer, at any time before,
    (a) the offer is withdrawn; or
    (b) the court begins to give a decision that disposes of a claim dealt with in the offer. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 18 (9).
    OFFER REMAINS OPEN DESPITE REJECTION OR COUNTER-OFFER
    <!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .tribunaux judiciaires (Loi sur les) - Règl. de l'Ont. 114/99. -->(10) A party may accept an offer in accordance with subrule (9) even if the party has previously rejected the offer or made a counter-offer. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 18 (10).
    COSTS NOT DEALT WITH IN OFFER
    <!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .tribunaux judiciaires (Loi sur les) - Règl. de l'Ont. 114/99. -->(11) If an accepted offer does not deal with costs, either party is entitled to ask the court for costs. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 18 (11).
    COURT APPROVAL, OFFER INVOLVING SPECIAL PARTY
    <!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .tribunaux judiciaires (Loi sur les) - Règl. de l'Ont. 114/99. -->(12) A special party may make, withdraw and accept an offer, but another party’s acceptance of a special party’s offer and a special party’s acceptance of another party’s offer are not binding on the special party until the court approves. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 18 (12).
    FAILURE TO CARRY OUT TERMS OF ACCEPTED OFFER
    <!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .tribunaux judiciaires (Loi sur les) - Règl. de l'Ont. 114/99. -->(13) If a party to an accepted offer does not carry out the terms of the offer, the other party may,
    (a) make a motion to turn the parts of the offer within the court’s jurisdiction into an order; or
    (b) continue the case as if the offer had never been accepted. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 18 (13).
    COSTS CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO ACCEPT OFFER
    <!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .tribunaux judiciaires (Loi sur les) - Règl. de l'Ont. 114/99. -->(14) A party who makes an offer is, unless the court orders otherwise, entitled to costs to the date the offer was served and full recovery of costs from that date, if the following conditions are met:
    1. If the offer relates to a motion, it is made at least one day before the motion date.
    2. If the offer relates to a trial or the hearing of a step other than a motion, it is made at least seven days before the trial or hearing date.
    3. The offer does not expire and is not withdrawn before the hearing starts.
    4. The offer is not accepted.
    5. The party who made the offer obtains an order that is as favourable as or more favourable than the offer. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 18 (14).
    COSTS CONSEQUENCES — BURDEN OF PROOF
    <!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .tribunaux judiciaires (Loi sur les) - Règl. de l'Ont. 114/99. -->(15) The burden of proving that the order is as favourable as or more favourable than the offer to settle is on the party who claims the benefit of subrule (14). O. Reg. 114/99, r. 18 (15).
    COSTS — DISCRETION OF COURT
    <!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .tribunaux judiciaires (Loi sur les) - Règl. de l'Ont. 114/99. -->(16) When the court exercises its discretion over costs, it may take into account any written offer to settle, the date it was made and its terms, even if subrule (14) does not apply. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 18 (16).

    Comment


    • #3
      this is for ontario, im in bc, i've read bc law, but the wording has my head spinning. i need clear concise english. can an offer to settle be put in any time? we have just dealt with the notice of family claim, counterclaim and response to counterclaim. does a motion need to be filed first? im so confused and have no more money to get legal help, ive exhausted all the free stuff. im so not cut out for this self represented crap. please i need help.

      Comment


      • #4
        They can be at any time, but they do need to be signed by you and your lawyer, and served on the other party. I do not know if they are to be filed at the court, although I have heard they are often filed in sealed envelopes to respect the confidentiality clauses mentioned. They may have conditions, they may have an expiry, and they may be withdrawn with notice.

        Hopefully you can continue to submit Offers to Settle throughout the process without needing to proceed to motions.

        Perhaps a good idea would be to wait until the first case conference or settlement conference to hear the opinion of the judges and offering a settlement based on their recommendations.

        Comment


        • #5
          i sent off another offer of settlement today by email. i scanned it after signing it this time, im hoping it will be okay. i was not aware it had to be served. i am self representing, and i sent it to her lawyers email so i hope that would be the same as being served?

          Comment


          • #6
            You should explicitly ask their permission to accept service via email. They COULD refuse, but it would be a risk to them.

            Comment


            • #7
              Dinky is right. Service is not normally done by e-mail, you should ask permission. In person, by mail, courier or fax is more the norm. But with permission I'm sure it is allowable.

              The reason why is because you can't fill out an affidavit of service after sending an email because you don't know for sure if they received the email or will read it. It could be filtered into their junk mail folder for all you know.

              Comment

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