Samantha Merrill v. Walmart Stores Inc.

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT TACOMA SAMANTHA MERRILL, CASE NO. 3:25-cv-05437-DGE Plaintiff, ORDER ON PLAINTIFF’S NOTICE v. OF ACCEPTANCE OF OFFER OF JUDGMENT (DKT. NO. 18) Defendant.

Before the Court is Plaintiff’s notice of acceptance of Defendant’s offer of judgment. (Dkt. No. 18.) Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68(a), a party defending against a claim may serve on an opposing party an offer to allow judgment on specified terms, with the costs then accrued. If, within 14 days after being served, the opposing party serves written notice accepting the offer, either party may then file the offer and notice of acceptance, plus proof of service. The clerk must then enter judgment.

Fed. R. Civ. P. 68(a); see also Kubiak v. Cnty. of Ravalli, 32 F.4th 1182, 1185 (9th Cir. 2022) (“An offer of judgment is essentially a settlement offer, but by virtue of the rule, it has unique features: the plaintiff may accept it at any time within fourteen days after receiving it, and if he does, the district court must enter judgment accordingly.”). Plaintiff has accepted the offer of judgment within the 14-day window prescribed by Rule 68(a). The conditions of the offer of judgment are as follows: “Judgment in favor of Plaintiff in

the amount of $50,000.00, including all attorney’[s] fees and costs incurred as of the date of the Offer of Judgment, as full satisfaction of all claims alleged in this matter.” (Dkt. No 18 at 1–2.) Accordingly, the Court will enter judgment in Plaintiff’s favor per the terms of the offer of judgment. (See Dkt. No. 18 at 4–5.) The Clerk is directed to enter judgment in favor of Plaintiff against Defendant and close this case. Defendant’s pending motion for summary judgment (Dkt. No. 14) is DENIED as moot. Dated this 25th day of August 2026. a David G. Estudillo United States District Judge