Study finds that settling is often better than trial
A study of 2,054 cases that went to trial from 2002 to 2005, concludes that parties in litigation can, and more often due, win without fighting.
“The lesson for plaintiffs is, in the vast majority of cases, they are perceiving the defendant's offer to be half a loaf when in fact it is an entire loaf or more,” said Randall L. Kiser, a co-author of the study and principal analyst at DecisionSet, a consulting firm that advises clients on litigation decisions.
Defendants made the wrong decision by proceeding to trial far less often, in 24 percent of cases, according to the study; plaintiffs were wrong in 61 percent of cases. In just 15 percent of cases, both sides were right to go to trial - meaning that the defendant paid less than the plaintiff had wanted but the plaintiff got more than the defendant had offered.
The moral of the above study, at least for plaintiffs, may be that the settlement offer you just received from the other side really is the high point of your case.
