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(d)
Withdrawal only with leave
In order to make allowances for the absence in general of pre-action protocols, the
Working Party recommends that the rules should require a sanctioned offer to remain
open for acceptance for 28 days after it is made, unless leave to withdraw it sooner is
obtained from the court. In this period, the offeree could, if necessary, seek
clarification not merely of what is being offered,
but also of the offeror's case and
make any needed investigations into his own case, before deciding whether to accept
the offer. This he could do in the secure knowledge that the offer would remain open
for 28 days, subject only to the court permitting the offeror to cut it short. Thereafter,
the offer could be withdrawn and if not, would continue to be capable of acceptance.
The 28 day period should be the required minimum period before commencement of
the trial
for the making of sanctioned offers, so that offers allowing less than 28 days
before trial for acceptance would not qualify. In the Working Party's view, this
requirement would be of particular importance in relation to sanctioned offers made
by plaintiffs. It would be undesirable to enable a plaintiff to place a defendant under
the significant threat of additional interest at potentially punitive rates at the very door
of the court (having already incurred the bulk of the defence costs) as a means of
forcing what may be an unfair settlement.
Notes
Under CPR 36.9 which gives him 7 days to do this.
Or substantive hearing of an originating summons, here equally referred to as the "trial".
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