Stallman v. Bell

Ann Stallman and William Stallman, as administrator of the estate of Frank Stallman, (Stallmans) (plaintiffs) brought a wrongful-death action against Petal Pusher Flowers; Nelda Brennan; Pilar Aldapa, Jr.; and Elissa, Walter, and Lynn Bell (Bell) (defendants) after an automobile accident fatally injured Frank Stallman. The Stallmans made an offer to compromise of $225,000, “each side to bear its own costs.” The offer was not accepted. The case went to trial, and the Stallmans obtained a verdict of $224,500. The Stallmans submitted a bill for costs for expert-witness fees and prejudgment interest under California Code of Civil Procedure § 998(d) and § 3291. Bell contested the motion, arguing the joint offer was invalid and the Stallmans had not received a “more favorable judgment” as required by § 998. The Stallmans countered that the ordinary costs due to them as the prevailing parties must be added to the verdict to assess whether they had received a more favorable judgment, which in this case would put them over the amount of their offer. The trial court held that because the terms of the offer had each side bearing its own costs, the Stallmans could not add costs to the verdict, which fell short of their offer by $500. Nevertheless, the trial court allowed the Stallmans their expert-witness fees but denied prejudgment interest. Both sides appealed.