Offer to settle - does it get filed with CC brief?

[Londonmom]

I am off to case conference in a few weeks and am completing my CC brief. Both parties are self-repped. I am planning on making an offer to settle and wanted to clarify a few things.

1. Do I send my offer to settle to the other party along with the CC Brief and other forms when I serve them?
2. Do I put a time limit on it, say, 15 minutes prior to when our case conference is set to begin?
3. Do I file a copy of the offer to settle with my papers at court when filing my CC brief? Or do I simply make note on the CC brief that an offer to settle was made, and bring a copy of the offer to settle with me to court that day?

And one last question - this case conference is proceeding as though it was a new case, despite the fact that we have an existing SA for the last 13 years. So on the CC brief, where it asks what issues HAVE been settled, do I refer to the existing SA (where issues were settled and court ordered) and say yes they are settled? Or treat it as though the existing SA doesn't exist and check off that they have NOT been settled.

Thanks in advance

Edit to add: At the end of each case conference the brief is destroyed, is my understanding. So what happens to my offer to settle? Does it stay on record, or is it also gone?

[annapurna66]

This is my understanding:

1. Yes. You don't have to serve offers but I think it is preferable to have a paper trail.

2. You can. The offer will automatically expire at trial. (Check the FLR...I think it's 2 minutes after the start of trial??) You can also say that it will expire in 2weeks(or whatever) or you can associate costs with it...no costs if accepted before--date--but full costs if accepted after that.

3. I think you can do either. Offers do not become part of the continuing record so it doesn't really matter. You MUST attach an offer at settlement conference...case conference is not a requirement. You should have your briefs returned to you at the end if the conference. If not you can ask for them.

4. Tick off yes to the areas that are settled and will stay that way(eg property). Tick no to the areas that are now in dispute.

5. No offers to settle stay in the continuing record.

[involveddad75]

It is sometimes a good idea to file offers to settling in the continuing record.

The way you do this is to place the offer to settle, along with a fax transmission confirmation into a sealed envelope and mark it with the following

Offer to Settle from the Applicant to the Respondent served on ______.

No judge would open it, but it is there in the continuing record and prevents the other side claiming that the offer to settle is different than what was given to them.