§ 40.652 — Offer of judgment

1. At any time after a claimant has given notice pursuant to NRS 40.645 and before the claimant commences an action or amends a complaint to add a cause of action for a constructional defect against a contractor, subcontractor, supplier or design professional, the claimant or any contractor, subcontractor, supplier or design professional who has received notice pursuant to NRS 40.645 or 40.646 may serve upon one or more other parties a written offer to allow judgment to be entered without action in accordance with the terms and conditions of the offer of judgment.
2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 7, if, within 10 days after the date of service of an offer of judgment, the party to whom the offer was made serves written notice that the offer is accepted, the party who made the offer or the party who accepted the offer may file the offer, the notice of acceptance and proof of service with the clerk of the district court. Upon receipt by the clerk, the clerk shall enter a judgment according to the terms of the offer. Any judgment entered pursuant to this section shall be deemed a compromise settlement. The judgment, the offer, the notice of acceptance and proof of service, with the judgment endorsed, become the judgment roll.
3. If the offer of judgment is not accepted pursuant to subsection 2 within 10 days after the date of service, the offer shall be deemed rejected by the party to whom it was made and withdrawn by the party who made it. The rejection of an offer does not preclude any party from making another offer pursuant to this section. Evidence of a rejected offer is not admissible in any proceeding other than a proceeding to determine costs and fees.
4. Except as otherwise provided in this section, if a party who rejects an offer of judgment fails to obtain a more favorable judgment in an action for a constructional defect, the court:
(a) May not award to the party any costs or attorney’s fees;
(b) May not award to the party any interest on the judgment for the period from the date of service of the offer to the date of entry of the judgment;
(c) Shall order the party to pay the taxable costs incurred by the party who made the offer; and
(d) May order the party to pay to the party who made the offer any or all of the following:
(1) A reasonable sum to cover any costs incurred by the party who made the offer for each expert witness whose services were reasonably necessary to prepare for and conduct the trial of the case.
(2) Any applicable interest on the judgment for the period from the date of service of the offer to the date of entry of the judgment.
(3) Reasonable attorney’s fees incurred by the party who made the offer for the period from the date of service of the offer to the date of entry of the judgment. If the attorney of the party who made the offer is collecting a contingent fee, the amount of any attorney’s fees awarded to the party pursuant to this subparagraph must be deducted from that contingent fee.
5. To determine whether a party who rejected an offer of judgment failed to obtain a more favorable judgment:
(a) If the offer provided that the court would award costs, the court must compare the amount of the offer with the principal amount of the judgment, without inclusion of costs.
(b) If the offer precluded a separate award of costs, the court must compare the amount of the offer with the sum of:
(1) The principal amount of the judgment; and
(2) The amount of taxable costs that the claimant who obtained the judgment incurred before the date of service of the offer.
6. Multiple parties may make a joint offer of judgment pursuant to this section.
7. A party may make to two or more other parties pursuant to this section an apportioned offer of judgment that is conditioned upon acceptance by all the parties to whom the apportioned offer is made. Each party to whom such an offer is made may serve upon the party who made the offer a separate written notice of acceptance of the offer. If any party rejects the apportioned offer:
(a) The action must proceed as to all parties to whom the apportioned offer was made, whether or not the other parties accepted or rejected the offer; and
(b) The sanctions set forth in subsection 4:
(1) Apply to each party who rejected the apportioned offer.
(2) Do not apply to any party who accepted the apportioned offer.
8. The sanctions set forth in subsection 4 do not apply to:
(a) An offer of judgment made to multiple parties who received a notice pursuant to NRS 40.645 or 40.646 unless the same person is authorized to decide whether to settle the claims against all the parties to whom the offer is made and:
(1) There is a single common theory of liability against all the parties to whom the offer is made;
(2) The liability of one or more of the parties to whom the offer is made is entirely derivative of the liability of the remaining parties to whom the offer is made; or
(3) The liability of all the parties to whom the offer is made is entirely derivative of a common act or omission by another person.
(b) An offer of judgment made to multiple claimants unless the same person is authorized to decide whether to settle the claims of all the claimants to whom the offer is made and:
(1) There is a single common theory of liability claimed by all the claimants to whom the offer is made;
(2) The damages claimed by one or more of the claimants to whom the offer is made are entirely derivative of an injury to the remaining claimants to whom the offer is made; or
(3) The damages claimed by all the claimants to whom the offer is made are entirely derivative of an injury to another person.

Legislative History

(Added to NRS by 2015, 7 )