Matt McCahearty & Jonathan Pratt recommend keeping Pt 36 offers under review
The current Pt 36 rules, which came into effect on 6 April 2007, provide that Pt 36 offers remain open until expressly withdrawn but what happens when a Pt 36 offer is rejected?
Contract law clearly provides that when an offer is rejected, it lapses. What is less well established, however, is whether the same rule applies to the Pt 36 procedure. This issue was discussed in the recent case of Sampla and Others v (1) Rushmore Borough Council (2) Mr Timothy Crowley [2008] EWHC 2616 (TCC).
Rushmore Borough Council (RBC) and Mr Crowley were co-defendants to a claim, brought by Mr Sampla and others (the claimants). Mr Crowley settled the dispute with the claimants and sought to recover a contribution from RBC.
On 12 August 2008, Mr Crowley made a Pt 36 offer, in which he offered to accept from RBC a contribution of 20% towards both the settlement sum and the claimants’ costs. On 14 August 2008, RBC expressly rejected the Pt 36 offer, saying
