Defendant's Offer to Settle - 'Calderbank Offer'
A Plaintiff might sue you for $50K in circumstances where you admit that you owe $20K, but no more. If you are a Defendant in these circumstances, you might dig your heels in and "refuse to pay a cent" until proceedings are finished. Unfortunately, at the end of the case, the judge might order you to pay the twenty thousand dollars, PLUS another $20K in costs. It was very expensive to defend that case. To reduce the risk of orders for COSTS, you can an offer to pay the $20K, in an offer that is confidential until the end of proceedings.