Opinion ID: 2625597
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Wheeler's motion for attorney fees

Text: Wheeler's argues that the district court erred in denying its motion for attorney fees because the Waddells recovered only on equitable grounds and failed to obtain a money judgment in excess of the $25,000 offer of judgment that Wheeler's proffered before trial. We disagree. Under NRCP 68(a), [20] either party may serve an offer of judgment to settle the matter [a]t any time more than 10 days before trial. Further, NRCP 68(f) provides for penalties if the offeree rejects the offer, proceeds to trial, and fails to obtain a more favorable judgment.  (Emphasis added.) Specifically, NRCP 68(f)(2) provides that the offeree shall pay the offeror's post-offer costs, applicable interest on the judgment from the time of the offer to the time of entry of the judgment and reasonable attorney's fees, if any be allowed, actually incurred by the offeror from the time of the offer. The district court must consider four factors in awarding penalties pursuant to NRCP 68(f). [21] The third factor, which is most relevant to this case, requires a consideration of whether the plaintiff's decision to reject the offer and proceed to trial was grossly unreasonable or in bad faith. [22] The district court properly concluded that the Waddells' decision to proceed to trial was neither unreasonable nor in bad faith. Further, the district court was not entitled to penalize the Waddells under NRCP 68(f)(2) because the Waddells failed to obtain a more favorable judgment than the $25,000 offer. Though the Waddells succeeded only on an equitable claim, their revocation of acceptance resulted in the recovery of $113,680.57 that they had spent on the RV. [23] This recovery is clearly more favorable to the Waddells than the offer of judgment because (a) they recovered more than $25,000 from Wheeler's and (b) they were not required to keep and make payments on the RV, which they could not use for the purposes they intended when they bought it. Accordingly, the district court properly denied Wheeler's motion for attorney fees.