Firm News As of this month, it has been over two and a half years since Bailey Brauer was formed in May of 2013. We have a tremendous team and appreciate the opportunity to work with our clients to obtain great results. We would like to thank our clients and friends and wish you much success in 2016. Can a defendant moot a class action by making an offer of judgment to the class representative for the full amount of damages available? Class action lawsuits can be very expensive to defend against. Defendants therefore seek every opportunity to end such lawsuits as quickly as possible. One strategy recently employed is to offer the class representative all damages to which she would be entitled and argue that the lawsuit is therefore moot. The Supreme Court recently heard oral argument on this issue and will decide whether the strategy can be successful going forward in early 2016. One of the mechanisms available to a defendant in federal court is Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 (“Rule 68”). Under Rule 68, a party defending against a claim can make an “offer of judgment” to the other side offering to allow judgment to be entered against the defendant on specified terms. If the plaintiff accepts the offer within 14 days, the court enters judgment against the defendant and the case is over. Why would a defendant make such an offer as opposed to forcing the plaintiff to convince a jury or judge to award a judgment? The reason is that an unaccepted offer creates risk for the plaintiff. If the plaintiff does not accept the defendant’s offer within 14 days and the judgment the plaintiff eventually obtains from the