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Therefore, while the protection of confidentiality afforded to mediations can be safely invoked to determine whether evidence is admissible or inadmissible, it is less clear as to the possibility of disclosing information in an out-of-court proceeding such as public disclosure or the press. In order to address this uncertainty in the event of a disclosure concern, the parties may expressly agree that the confidentiality rules contained in the code of evidence also prohibit disclosure. The main purpose of section 408 is to encourage the parties to enter into the free negotiation of transactions without worrying about these settlement discussions being conducted against them in court. However, as noted above, Rule 408 does not provide flat-rate protection against the use of comparative documents during negotiation; On the contrary, they can be used for many purposes. Proof of an agreement can be used against a party who participated in the transaction discussion. This means that billing notifications need to be carefully prepared. Practitioners should consider whether a transaction communication against their client could be used in court. Any billing request or offer you make should be real and realistic; it should really reflect what your client wants. If your customer receives a billing offer, you should respond with caution to the request. If your client refuses the offer without a reasonable basis, it can be used in court to prove your client`s bias or bias, which could have a devastating effect on your client`s credibility. Many lawyers, and even judges, generally view section 408 as an absolute rule that prohibits any party from using settlement negotiations or settling scores for any purpose. This rule leads counsel to immediately believe that any counting document cannot be used in the trial if the document contains “the provision, promise or acceptance – or acceptance of the promise to accept or accept the promise – when it is to compromise or compromise the requirement and attempt to compromise the requirement and conduct or statement during compromise negotiations on the request to compromise or compromise.
It`s an error of judgment. The reality of Rule 408 and its application is more nuanced. Although evidence of an agreement or the content of the transaction negotiations is often inadmissible, there are circumstances in which such evidence can be admitted to court and used effectively. The court has the right to admit comparative evidence for purposes other than proof of liability or amount of the claim.