Burrett v Mencap Ltd
In this case, Northhampton County Court felt bound to decide
that the original acceptance period for a Part 36 offer had expired
and was not renewed upon the offer being varied. This decision is
surprising, but does appear to be in accordance with the strict
letter of Part 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules. In light of this
ruling, offerors may wish to consider varying their offers rather
than making completely new offers since the latter will trigger a
new period for acceptance to run.
A settlement offer in the correct form was served on the
claimant, Burrett by the defendant, Mencap, on 19 July 2013, where
it lay on the table, neither unaccepted nor withdrawn. On 17
January 2014, Mencap served on Burrett a variation to change the
terms of the July 2013 offer. Burrett accepted the varied offer.
The issue was whether, in relation to the varied Part 36 offer, the
time for acceptance remains 21 days from the date of the original
offer or whether a
