Settlements are agreements made before a lawsuit is decided in court. Settlements involve the plaintiff giving up their right to pursue legal action in exchange for some sort of compensation from the defendant—usually less than what the plaintiff was asking for when he or she filed the lawsuit. A settlement is a legal compromise that is made for a wide variety of reasons.
Settlements can be incredibly tricky and generally involve significant negotiations, so it is vital in all cases that you defer to the judgment of your legal counsel to advise you on whether or not you should accept a settlement offer in a lawsuit.
There are times when a settlement will be beneficial and perhaps the best result you can hope to achieve, and there will be times when settling does not make much sense given the circumstances. Your attorney will weigh all factors, including evidence, cost, your desired outcome, and much more. He or she will then advise you on your best course of action and you will have the final decision whether or not to accept the settlement.
In this blog we have broken down some of the key advantages of settling your lawsuit from the perspective of the plaintiff. Keep in mind, though, that whether or not a situation is advantageous or disadvantageous heavily depends on your perspective and your goals.
Nonetheless, the following are some common benefits which a settlement could provide in most cases.
Cost
Trials are costly affairs. The simple truth is that a settlement will shorten the process by leaps and bounds and save you a great deal of money in things like attorneys fees. On the flip side, however, the settlement offer may be for less than you were hoping to gain in the lawsuit, in which case you will have to take a close look at the cost/benefit of prolonging the case with an eye towards how strong your case is and how good a chance you have to win.
Privacy
One of the biggest benefits that a settlement will provide is to prevent further details about the case from being revealed to the public than have already been revealed. The discovery process has the potential to uproot information about you, whether personal or business-related, that could be very harmful to your public relations—not to mention your personal life. If you want to prevent further digging into your affairs, a settlement may be an extremely advantageous way to do just that while also not walking away empty handed.
Know exactly what to expect
Depending on the strength of your case, pursuing a court ruling in your lawsuit could be an unpredictable gamble. A settlement is a surefire way to know exactly how the case is going to turn out so you can prepare accordingly.
Get it over with
No one wants to be caught up in litigation for long periods of time. It is costly, stressful, and robs you of opportunity costs as well. A settlement will end the case and keep it from potentially lasting for years. With a settlement, there is no potential appeal to prolong the process, the lawsuit will simply end based on the terms you agree to.
While there are some significant incentives for plaintiffs to settle a lawsuit in many cases, we would like to reiterate once more that you should ultimately listen to your attorney’s advice when it comes to making that decision. Closely examine all aspects of your case and decide whether it is worth it for the lawsuit to continue or better for you to settle. If your company is in need of legal counsel regarding filing or defending against a lawsuit, please contact the Trembly Law Firm today.
