Washington v. Horton

In Washington v. Horton, 132 N.C. App. 347, 351, 513 S.E.2d 331, 334 (1999), a case arising out of a motor vehicle collision, the plaintiffs made settlement demands prior to verdict ranging from $ 30,000.00 to $ 50,000.00 The defendant made two offers of settlement prior to trial, the first in the amount of $ 5,573.21 and the second in the amount of $ 8,004.00. Following trial, the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiffs in the amount of $ 3,782.31. The trial court awarded a sum of $ 4,000.00 in attorney's fees to counsel for plaintiffs. On appeal, this Court reversed and remanded the award of attorney's fees for reconsideration. The Horton Court ordered the trial judge on remand to consider the entire record, including the following pertinent factors: (1) whether any settlement offers were made prior to the institution of the action; (2) whether the defendant unjustly exercised superior bargaining power in the settlement negotiation process; (3) the timing of the settlement offers; (4) the amount of the settlement offers as compared to the jury verdict. Id. at 351, 513 S.E.2d at 334-35.