New CCP 998 Case

Welcome to the Blog of Monty A. McIntyre, Esq.

For most of my legal career I was a civil trial lawyer who represented both plaintiffs and defendants. These days, I help lawyers and their clients as: 
-a mediator who settles cases,
-an arbitrator who decides cases,
-a referee who decides issues, 
-a publisher who keeps CA law firms and lawyers up to date on the new published civil case law, and a
-a podcaster who helps lawyers learn from civil jury trial experts about how to try jury trials 

Do well and be well,
Monty A. McIntyre, Esq.

New Published California CCP 998 Case

Are Alternative-Choice 998 Offers Valid in California?    

The California Supreme Court addressed this important issue last month. Below is my one-paragraph case summary from my online publication California Case Summaries™: 

Gorobets v. Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (2026) _ Cal.5th _ , 2026 WL 2267423: The California Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeal’s ruling but disapproved its reasoning. Following a jury verdict awarding plaintiff $76,155.27 in damages in his action for express and implied breach of warranty, and breach of the duty to return his vehicle from service without defects within 30 days. The trial court concluded that defendant’s offer under Code of Civil Procedure section 998 (which gave plaintiff a choice between an $85,000 lump-sum payment or a more complex reimbursement/dispute-resolution alternative) was valid based on the certainty of the $85,000 option, and it imposed cost-shifting penalties against plaintiff for failing to beat the 998 offer at trial. The Court of Appeal affirmed the ultimate cost award but reasoned that alternative-choice 998 offers are categorically invalid because they constitute “simultaneous offers” that are inherently too uncertain for a court to value against a later judgment, though it separately found the lump-sum alternative independently valid and sufficient to support the award. The California Supreme Court rejected the categorical-invalidity rule, holding instead that a single 998 offer presenting two independent, mutually exclusive sets of terms can be valid so long as (1) it is structured to clearly present the alternatives, and (2) at least one alternative is sufficiently certain to permit accurate valuation at the time of the offer — with cost shifting then turning on whether the rejecting party failed to beat the highest-valued, valid alternative. Practitioner Takeaways: (1) Alternative-choice 998 offers are now expressly permitted in California — attorneys may draft a single offer presenting two (or potentially more) mutually exclusive settlement options, provided the structure and selection mechanism are unambiguous; (2) Only one valid alternative is needed: if at least one option in the offer is sufficiently certain to be valued, that alone can trigger cost-shifting, even if other options in the same offer are later found too indefinite (e.g., the invalidated dispute-resolution alternative here); (3) Offerors bear the burden of proving both structural clarity (clear delineation of terms and an unambiguous acceptance mechanism) and valuation certainty for at least one alternative; sloppy drafting risks invalidation and ambiguities will be construed against the offeror; and (4) Existing safeguards (good-faith requirements, offeree’s ability to request extensions/informal discovery) remain the primary checks against “sea of alternatives” gamesmanship, rather than a categorical bar on multi-option offers. (August 6, 2026.)

Mediation, Arbitration & Referee Services

Monty A. McIntyre, Esq. helps attorneys and their clients throughout California as a mediator, arbitrator and referee, handling employment (PAGA, wage and hour, wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation), tort (elder abuse, legal malpractice, medical malpractice, personal injury, product liability and wrongful death), business, commercial, insurance (bad faith, coverage, UIM), real property and trust and estate/probate cases. Monty has been a California civil trial lawyer since 1980, a member of ABOTA since 1995, has tried over 100 civil cases (jury trials, judge trials, administrative trials and arbitrations), and has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in the areas listed above.

When you want a mediator who's settled lots of cases, tried lots of civil jury trials, bench trials and arbitrations for plaintiffs and defendants, and knows the new published California civil case law, Monty is happy to help.  

To easily schedule a mediation, pick your date on Monty's calendar: https://montymcintyre.com. If you have any questions call or email Monty. Monty's phone: (619) 90-4312. Monty's email: monty@montymcintyre.com.  

You can also mediate with Monty at ADR Services. To schedule at ADR Services contact Rachael Boughan, rboughan@adrservices.com, (619) 233-1323.

 California Case Summaries™
Know The New Law.  

California Case Summaries™ makes it fast and easy for California attorneys to know the new civil case law in their practice areas to get a competitive advantage and win more cases, providing one-paragraph case summaries, with practitioner takeaways, that are organized by legal topic of every new civil case published by California courts throughout each year. Seven publication options are available, under two subscription options: a Law Firm Unlimited subscription (the firm can send summaries to every firm attorney) and an Individual Attorney subscription (only the subscribing attorney can read the summaries).

There are two ways to get California Case Summaries™:

1. Mediate with Monty McIntyre to Get a Free 1-Year Subscription to California Case Summaries™:

Law Firm Lawyers: When law firm lawyers conduct two half-day or two full-day private mediations in one calendar year with Monty McIntyre your law firm will get a free 1-year Law Firm Unlimited subscription (letting the firm send summaries to every firm attorney) to California Case Summaries™.

Sole Practitioners: When you conduct one half-day or full-day private mediation with Monty McIntyre you'll get a free 1-year Individual Attorney subscription (only the subscribing attorney can read the summaries) to California Case Summaries™.
 

Easily schedule a mediation with Monty by picking your date on Monty's calendar: https://montymcintyre.com 

You can also mediate with Monty at ADR Services. To schedule at ADR Services contact Rachael Boughan, rboughan@adrservices.com, (619) 233-1323.


2. Buy One of the CCS Publications:

Law Firm Unlimited subscriptions (the law firm can send summaries to every firm lawyer):  

• California Case Summaries™ (monthly, quarterly and annual issues). Subscribe.
• CCS Monthly™ (monthly issues only). Subscribe.
• CCS Quarterly™ (quarterly issues only). Subscribe.
• CCS Annual™ (annual issues only). Subscribe.
• CCS Annual Employment™ (annual issues only). Subscribe. 
• CCS Annual Tort and Insurance™ (annual issues only). Subscribe.
  
• CCS Annual Real Property™ (annual issues only). Subscribe.

Individual Attorney subscriptions (only the subscribing attorney can read the summaries):

• California Case Summaries™ (monthly, quarterly and annual issues). Subscribe.
• CCS Monthly™ (monthly issues only). Subscribe.
• CCS Quarterly™ (quarterly issues only). Subscribe.
• CCS Annual™ (annual issues only). Subscribe.
•  CCS Annual Employment™ (annual issues only). Subscribe.
• CCS Annual Tort and Insurance™ (annual issues only). Subscribe.
  
• CCS Annual Real Property™ (annual issues only). Subscribe. 
  
   

Free Sample Case Summaries: To get free one-paragraph summaries of every new civil case published by the California Supreme Court in 2024, click here.

The Trial Alchemy™ Podcast 

In this monthly podcast Monty talks with top plaintiff and defense trial lawyers and civil trial judges who are members of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) about what works, and what doesn't work when trying a case to a jury. Learn from civil jury trial experts about case preparation, trial themes, mini-openings, voir dire, opening statement, direct and cross examination, final argument and more. 

Listening to or watching the podcast is an excellent way for civil lawyers, whether they've tried no cases or many cases, to learn from civil jury trial experts.

Listen or Watch Today: 
To listen and watch, click here. To listen only, click here. 
The Trial Alchemy™ podcast is also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

Do well and be well.  

Best regards,
Monty A. McIntyre, Esq.
End Litigation Trauma - Get Your Life Back
Helping Attorneys Get Excellent Results
-Settling or Deciding Cases or Issues: Mediator, Arbitrator & Referee
Employment, Torts, Business, Real Property, Insurance and Probate Cases
To easily schedule a new matter visit: https://montymcintyre.com 
-Working Up Cases: California Case Summaries™: Know The Law
-Trying Cases: Trial Alchemy™ - Learn from Civil Jury Trial Experts
ABOTA Member Since 1995
Past President San Diego County Bar Assn. (2002), Past President SD ABOTA Chapter (2014)
Phone: (619) 990-4312 | Email: monty@montymcintyre.com