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 helping law firms and lawyers know the new published CA civil case law, and 
-a podcaster who helps lawyers learn from civil jury trial experts to be better jury trial lawyers 

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

New Published California CCP 998 Case

The Last 998 That You Send is the One that Counts    

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

Meehan v. Aguirre (2026) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2026 WL 2718514: The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s orders denying prevailing party plaintiff’s request for expert witness costs and prejudgment interest, and taxing other litigation costs (including trial technician fees and Day in the Life video expenses) after plaintiff prevailed in her personal injury action and recovered damages of $1,062,500. The trial court denied the costs, concluding that plaintiff’s recovery did not exceed her section Code of Civil Procedure section 998 offer (998 offer) and she also failed to substantiate that the disputed costs were reasonable and necessary. The Court of Appeal held that under the "last offer rule" plaintiff's final, unrevoked 998 offer for $2,000,000 controlled for determining entitlement to expert fees and prejudgment interest under both section 998 and Civil Code section 3291—even where earlier 998 offers of $1,000,000 were exceeded by the judgment. The Court of Appeal also ruled that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in taxing costs plaintiff failed to substantiate under Code of Civil Procedure section 1033.5. Practitioner Takeaways: (1) When a plaintiff serves multiple unrevoked section 998 offers, only the last offer is operative for measuring whether the defendant "failed to obtain a more favorable judgment"—earlier, more favorable-to-plaintiff offers are extinguished and cannot be revived on appeal; (2) Prejudgment interest under Civil Code section 3291 rises and falls with the same last-offer analysis, despite Civil Code section 3291's reference to the plaintiff's "first offer," because that language presupposes a still-operative offer; (3) Costs sought under section Code of Civil Procedure 1033.5 (e.g., trial technician or exhibit-related costs) require contemporaneous, particularized evidentiary support—invoices or declarations—establishing both necessity and reasonableness, or the request risks being taxed in its entirety; and (4) Counsel should carefully evaluate the strategic effect of serving a substantially higher final section 998 offer late in litigation, since it can extinguish the cost-shifting benefits of earlier, more conservative offers even if the ultimate judgment would have exceeded them. (C.A. 2nd, September 15, 2026.)

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

Solo practitioners: When a solo practitioner conducts one half-day or full-day private mediation with Monty McIntyre they will a free 1-year Individual Attorney subscription to California Case Summaries™.
 
Pick your mediation date on Monty's calendar: https://montymcintyre.com 

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.  

Monty also serves as a mediator, arbitrator and referee at ADR Services. To schedule a matter 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 gain a competitive advantage and win more, providing one-paragraph case summaries and 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).

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™.

Solo 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™.
 

Pick your mediation 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.


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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 the most recent podcast, 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