I am the plaintiff. I have previously tried to settle the case with defendent and I have corespondance to prove it. Would it be wise to disclose it to court? Defendent never accepted this settlement clearly. But would it have any effect on the judge? The settlement that I previously agreed to? I am not suing a lot more of course.
2007-03-03 18:07:13 · 2 answers · asked by Programmer 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
My question is not if it would advance my case but could it damage it?
I have lots pf correspondances with defendent that I want to should court, some of them contains settlement attempts.
If I agree then to settle for x and now i sue for 5*x, would it have any inflience on the judge?
2007-03-03 18:47:36 · update #1
Generally, communications and statements made in the course of settlement are not admissible as evidence in courts (idea is to encourage candor in settlement discussions). But that of course assumes that you are trying to use the communications as evidence in the course of a proceeding (a point at which i do not think you have yet advanced).
Really, the judge cannot force or coerce the other party to settle. If they think they can get off or get a better deal with a trial, it is their right not to settle.
Moreover, you run into the ethical issue of the general prohibition of ex parte (one party) communications with a judge. These are disfavored in law.
In sum, it really does not advance your case at all to bring up settlement issues to the judge. He has little control over the matter and if anything will simply make statements like "the court encourages independent settlement or mediation."
2007-03-03 18:29:36 · answer #1 · answered by lordofthebarnyrd 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes, i can assume you ran this by you attorney and he advised you not to and you can't let it go. go for it. it is always smart to get your legal advice online. especially Yahoo.
2007-03-04 00:48:37 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋