Settling a Dispute – 5 Questions Defendants Should Answer

Are you a defendant involved in a matter that has gone to a settlement over trial, and are you thinking about settling a dispute.

If so, you may feel a little concerned that, without knowing what you are going into, the settlement may not work in your favour.

This is a valid concern!

Legal matters are significant and making sure that you have the knowledge and tools going into it is vital.

Making sure you are informed can prevent issues from arising over the settlement process and can help to ensure you achieve your goals.

This article will discuss 5 questions that you should ask yourself before settling a matter of yours and how the answers can help you with it!

Need help with settling a dispute? Be referred to the best litigation lawyers on the Sunshine Coast

Settling a Dispute – What can you offer?

 The first question that you should ask, and the answer is what is it that you can offer the plaintiff in order to settle?

This question is absolutely essential as the most significant factor of a settlement is the creation of a deal that works for both parties.

This means that, as the defendant, you have to be able to offer the plaintiff something in return for the conclusion of the matter.

This being said, there will only be so much that you have to offer!

You will more than likely be offering money to the plaintiff, so you have to work out how much money you can offer.

There are several things that you should consider in this case.

Firstly, you should consider how much money you have and how much of that you can offer.

You should also consider whether or not you would be better off financially to simply continue with the matter in court.

This is, most likely, not the case but if your plaintiff demands an extremely large amount of money to settle, it may be.

Settling a Dispute – What will you be Required to Pay?

Another element of settlement that you should consider beforehand is what additional fees you will be required to pay provided the settlement is a success.

Imagine you are in a settlement and the plaintiff offers you a great deal.

You are ready to celebrate when they mention that you be required to pay additional costs on top of the money you must pay to settle.

This can make or break a deal for both the plaintiff and defendant and, without considering it, can mean that you end up paying much more than you originally thought.

Additional fees will generally be the costs that the plaintiff had to pay their lawyer to represent them in the matter or other costs related to the legal element of the matter.

Many plaintiffs will want you to cover their legal costs as they are settling the matter for likely less than they would have been rewarded if the judge had ruled the matter in their favour. 

When calculating how much you have to offer the plaintiff in the settlement process, consider the possibility of additional costs also.

Settling a Dispute – Is it Worth it to Settle?

Another question that you should be considering before settling a matter of yours is if it is worth your while to settle.

This question is overlooked by many, but it is important nonetheless! While the answer may seem a little obvious, it may not be as clear as you think.

Your probably thinking, of course, it’s worth it to settle. What would not settling offer me?

Well, as discussed earlier, sometimes the settlement money combined with additional costs may not be worth settling and you would be better off going to trial with a good lawyer.

Going to trial presents the potential of you winning the case or at least having your lawyer talk the judge down to a smaller amount of money.

While this is a risk, depending on how much your opposing party demands to settle, it may be worth it, especially if there is potential for you to win the case.

How can you End the Legal Proceedings?

Another question that you should take into consideration prior to a settlement is how the proceeding can come to a conclusion.

There are various ways that you can go about concluding the settlement.

Depending on how you go about can benefit you in different ways and can change the outcome relying heavily on the nature of your finances and your matter.

You must select which court document to use to end the process of settlement.

You may wish to have the agreement approved by an Australian court. In order to do this, you can apply for a consent judgement.

When you have filled out the form allowing this to take place, or entered into a deed of settlement, the agreement will become legally binding and can be used by either party as evidence if the deal goes astray.

This can be beneficial as if the other party tries to claim in the future that no such agreement took place then you can present it as evidence.

Settling a Dispute – Should you Hire a Lawyer?

Another question you are probably asking yourself is if I do not already have a lawyer for this matter, is it worth my while to hire one for the settlement?

This is a fair question. After all, lawyers can be expensive, and you may think that you don’t really need one.

Regardless of your matter, it is a wise idea to hire a lawyer to help.

Why you may ask. Surely, I can negotiate a great deal on my own? A lawyer can help to ensure that you, as someone with likely minimal experience, are getting a good deal and are not being taken advantage of by the other party.

You, as a defendant, will likely not have very extensive knowledge of the law and what a settlement is or what it means.

A lawyer can help with this! Although their fees will be factored in as a cost, they can generally help to save you a lot of money by negotiating the best possible deal and informing you of what you should say and any underlying details of the deal/agreement that may be have been missed by the untrained eye.

Key Takeaways

Undergoing a settlement can be a confusing and stressful process.

There are a lot of factors you have to consider and, especially as a defendant, a lot of things that can potentially go wrong.

This is why it is vital that you have as much knowledge and preparation going into a settlement as possible.

Furthermore, the help of a professional lawyer can prevent many things from going poorly over the process.

Remember to prepare properly and consider the factors of your matter while doing so; it can save you a lot of money!

Need help with settling a dispute? Be referred to the best litigation lawyers on the Sunshine Coast