Attorney Fee Shifting Under New Jersey’s Rules

This blog entry looks at attorney fee shifting under New Jersey Court Rule 4:58. Under this rule, either party can find itself responsible for the other sides attorney fees if it improvidently rejects a settlement demand or offer.
The attorney fee shifting provisions go into effect to the advantage of the plaintiff if the judgment is at least 120% of the plaintiff's offered settlement amount. Attorney fee shifting will favor the defendant where the judgment is 80% or less of the amount the defendant offered.

The amount owed under the attorney fee shifting provision may be reduced if it would work an undue hardship on the party to which the attorney fee is shifted. Also, a defendant cannot benefit from the rule if the plaintiff’s claim is dismissed, the defendant gets a no-cause verdict, or only nominal damages are awarded.

Offers falling under this NJ rule must be made at least 20 days before trial and are deemed withdrawn after 90 days or within 10 days of trial, whichever comes first. Subsequent offers by a party are considered a withdrawal of the party’s prior offers, but a counter offer does not render the initial offer invalid. It may still be accepted unless affirmatively withdrawn.

Rule 4:58 applies only in maters that are exclusively for monetary relief. The rule does not apply to matrimonial actions.


The information contained in this blog is not legal advice and should not be relied on as such. For legal advice or for answers to specific questions, please contact the blog's author.