The New York Times reports that a new study compares the settlement offers and trial outcomes for plaintiffs and defendants who ended up going to trial. The study was performed by DecisionSet, a litigation and settlement research firm.
Deal or No Deal
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Yes, this could be right. But still, the decision to go to trial in a case would still depend on the arrangement between the lawyer and the client. Ideally, a lawyer should inform a client about the status of the case and tell a client what options to take.
Settlement offers and actual costs after trial may greatly vary. Of course, the evidence during the trial are taken into considerations in light of the facts and circumstances of the case.
While it sometimes is commendable and practical to accept offers of settlements, specially honest to goodness ones, we cannot discount the fact that sometimes, people tend to reject them and proceed to sue in courts instead because of principle, not because of money.
And while it is true that a plaintiff may win in trial but actually loses because the award made by the court is comparatively lower than what is offered in the settlement, we cannot discount the fact that the vindication and the feeling of sympathy from jury and the court sometimes suffice as a priceless price, emotionally and psychologically for the aggrieved party.