Opinion ID: 889317
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Issue Two: Did St. Paul's offer of judgment in the underlying negligence suit constitute an admission of liability, and therefore reasonably clear liability, as a matter of law?

Text: ¶ 48 Peterson argues the District Court erred when it concluded as a matter of law that St. Paul's offer judgment in federal district court did not constitute an admission of liability for the accident, and therefore reasonably clear liability, as a matter of law. Peterson argues that St. Paul's F.R. Civ. P. 68 offer of judgment unconditionally resolved all issues of liability adversely to St. Paul, including the UTPA claims. He further contends the F.R. Civ. P. 68 offer of judgment estops and precludes any ancillary action covered by the judgment, and is res judicata against St. Paul in the UTPA action. ¶ 49 The District Court's conclusion of law on this issue is reviewed de novo to determine if it was correct. Shults v. Liberty Cove, Inc., 2006 MT 247, 334 Mont. 70, 146 P.3d 710. Federal caselaw makes it clear that an offer of judgment under F.R. Civ. P. 68 does not necessarily constitute an admission of liability; instead, whether an offer amounts to such an admission is a function of the actual language of the settlement offer itself. See e.g. Sahyers v. Prugh, Holliday & Karatinos, P.L., 560 F.3d 1241, 1243 (11th Cir.2009); Martin v. PPP, Inc., ___ F.Supp. ___, ___-___, 2010 WL 2572524,  n. 3, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63192, -14 n. 3 (N.D.Ill.2010) (It is well-settled . . . that even offers under Rule 68 are not required to contain admissions of liability.); Walsh v. Boston U., 661 F.Supp.2d 91, 97 (D.Mass. 2009). ¶ 50 The offer of judgment in this case was admitted at trial, and is silent as to whether it constitutes an admission or denial of liability for the underlying accident. The jury was entitled to consider this evidence, and weigh its effect on the issue of reasonably clear liability. But even if St. Paul's offer of judgment in the federal court case was construed as an admission of liability, it simply does not have preclusive effect in the UTPA case because the issues in a UTPA case are distinct from those of the underlying suit. Graf, ¶ 12. Issue identity is one of the required elements in order to invoke the doctrines of collateral estoppel or res judicata. Baltrusch v. Baltrusch, 2006 MT 51, ¶¶ 15-16, 18, 331 Mont. 281, 130 P.3d 1267. Accordingly, we conclude that while an F.R. Civ. P. 68 offer of judgment may under some circumstances constitute an admission of liability for the underlying accident, it does not constitute an admission of reasonably clear liability with respect to Peterson's UTPA claims.