Offer of settlement; acceptance; rejection
Sec. 12. (a) Not later than ten (10) days before a trial involving
the issue of damages, the plaintiff shall, and a defendant may, file
and serve on the other party an offer of settlement. Not more than
five (5) days after the date offer of settlement is served, the party
served may respond by filing and serving upon the other party an
acceptance or a counter offer of settlement. The offer must state that
it is made under this section and specify the amount, exclusive of
interest and costs, that the party serving the offer is willing to accept
as just compensation and damages for the property sought to be
acquired. The offer or counter offer supersedes any other offer
previously made under this chapter by the party.
(b) An offer of settlement is considered rejected unless an
acceptance in writing is filed and served on the party making the
offer before the trial on the issue of the amount of damages begins.
(c) If the offer is rejected, it may not be referred to for any
purpose at the trial but may be considered solely for the purpose of
awarding costs and litigation expenses under section 14 of this
chapter.
(d) This section does not limit or restrict the right of a defendant
to payment of any amounts authorized by law in addition to damages
for the property taken from the defendant.
(e) This section does not apply to an action brought under
IC 8-1-13-19 (repealed).
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.9.
Last modified: May 24, 2006