An Offer to Settle Does Not End the Case!
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In November 2015, I discussed a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision– Campbell Ewald Company v Gomez, 768 F. 3d 781 (9th Cir. 2014)- in which that court held that where Plaintiff rejects Defendant’s Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 68 Offer of Judgment offering plaintiff all of the relief he requests, the case is not moot. (blog)
Plaintiff Gomez contended that Defendant violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, (47 U. S. C. §227(b) (1) (A) (iii) (2012)) by having one of its outside contractors text an unwanted message to his mobile phone. He sued and in response, the defendant served an Offer of Judgment for $1503.00 or more than three times the alleged statutory damages of $500 for each violation. Defendant also offered to pay any and all reasonable costs under the law and to allow the court to enter an injunction against it in the form attached.
Plaintiff allowed the Offer of Judgment to lapse by its own terms, thereby implicitly rejecting it. Defendant then filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds that the court lacked “subject matter jurisdiction” because it’s rejected offer to settle –providing full and complete relief to plaintiff- mooted the case.
The Ninth circuit disagreed determining that a rejected Rule 68 Offer of Judgment did not moot the case. Defendant appealed.
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