Using Stipulations in Civil Litigation
The Strategic Use of Stipulations of Fact Can Strengthen Your Injury Case and Help You Recover Monetary Damages
Fighting your opponent on every issue is tempting during litigation. A disagreement resulted in the lawsuit. And it is natural for the dispute to expand to discovery and trial.
But this approach can be a mistake that prevents you from reaching the ultimate goal – negotiating a reasonable settlement or winning money at trial.
Often, you can increase the likelihood of a favorable outcome through agreements.
A stipulation is a term for voluntary agreements between opposing parties in litigation. And courts permit stipulations of fact, expected witness testimony, procedural rules, and the admissibility of evidence.
This article explains how and when to use stipulations to your advantage in litigation. And what to do when the opposing party suggests its stipulations.
You do not want to enter into stipulations without analyzing how the proposed stipulation could help or hurt your case. Once you enter into the voluntary agreement, the court may consider it a binding contract you cannot revoke.
Keep reading to learn more about the law of evidence.
And feel free to contact us if you have questions about your motor vehicle accident or workers compensation case. You will find out why other attorneys and past clients named me one of Virginia’s best personal injury lawyers.
Stipulation Definition
A stipulation in a civil case in state or federal court is a voluntary agreement between opposing parties about a specific matter relevant to the litigation.
What are the Benefits of Stipulations?
Entering stipulations has several benefits for courts and the parties to a lawsuit.
General benefits of stipulations include:
- Narrowing the issues in dispute
- Promoting settlement
- Simplifying the case for the judge or jury
- Expediting the trial (shortening litigation)
- Saving money on costs
- Satisfying the burden of proof on specific elements for the cause of action
In addition, a party may use stipulations for tactical reasons during litigation.
For example:
- The insurance company (Geico, Travelers, State Farm) may offer to stipulate liability in a personal injury case to minimize the impact the defendant’s negligent behavior may have on the jury. I recommend rejecting this proposed stipulation because juries often use fault and the defendant’s acts to determine the amount of personal injury damages in tort claims.
- The plaintiff may ask the defendant to stipulate to the admissibility of the police crash report or incident reports to establish the accident happened.
- A party may stipulate the qualifications of the opposing party’s expert witness to minimize that witness’s credentials. If you have retained the top orthopedic surgeon or concussion expert, I recommend rejecting this stipulation. Often, lawsuits are a “battle of the experts.” And you want to present evidence to show that your expert witness is the best.
- You may stipulate a past felony conviction to avoid discussing the specifics of the crime before the jury. In contrast, you may reject such a stipulation if the crime happened long ago or other facts make you more sympathetic
What Do Courts Think About Stipulations?
Multiple courts and tribunals have praised the benefits of stipulations.
For example:
- Federal appeals courts have stated: “In general, courts encourage parties to enter into stipulations to promote judicial economy by narrowing the issues in dispute during litigation.”
- The Supreme Court of Virginia stated:”This court looks with favor upon the use of stipulations, admissions, discovery and other pre-trial techniques which are designed to narrow the issues and expedite the trial or settlement of litigation.”
- In reviewing the decision of the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission, an appellate court stated: “This court has repeatedly said that admissions and stipulations made in good faith should be encouraged …”
What Can You Stipulate to in Civil Cases and Workers Comp?
You may stipulate a variety of issues during litigation.
Stipulations of Fact
Typically a trial judge will accept the parties’ stipulations of fact.
If the judge accepts the stipulations of fact, the party with the burden of proving the stipulated fact has satisfied its burden. The opposing party concedes the alleged point, and the court will not hear controverting evidence related to the stipulation.
Stipulations of Testimony and Other Evidence
The parties may stipulate a witness’s expected testimony if that witness cannot attend the trial.
However, the court does not have to accept the admissibility or accuracy of the testimony. A party may still raise objections (relevance, hearsay, prejudicial).
In addition, the parties may stipulate the contents of documents that neither side will present at trial.
Stipulations About Procedural Rules and Acts
The trial court may also accept stipulations concerning:
- Admissibility or exclusion of specific evidence
- Authenticity of copies of documents
- Discovery procedure (Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 29 permits the parties to stipulate to procedures for taking depositions and expanding or limiting discovery tools such as interrogatories and requests for production of documents)
- Dismissal of an action with or without prejudice
- Qualifications of expert witnesses
What are Invalid Stipulations?
The legal system distinguishes issues of law from fact.
So though litigants typically have broad discretion to stipulate facts, the parties may not stipulate to legal conclusions. Only the court has authority to do so, and it is not bound to accept, as controlling, stipulations on questions of law.
In addition, the parties cannot stipulate the constitutionality of a statute.
Does the Stipulation Have to be in Writing?
Not necessarily.
But the best option is to put the stipulation in writing. Or put it on the record in open court with a court reporter transcribing the statement (an oral stipulation).
Still, the court may require the parties to write stipulations to prevent disputes in the future.
Can a Court Require that I Stipulate to the Other Side’s Proposal?
No.
Stipulations are voluntary. Therefore, a court cannot require you (or your opponent) to stipulate a specific item. Especially when the fact is not within your personal knowledge.
However, you should not reject a proposed stipulation without considering if you will look unreasonable. Judges and juries may side with the more credible attorney on close calls involving other issues. And you lose credibility if you fight about bad facts (or refuse to accept they exist).
Further, you can use the opposing party’s request that you stipulate a fact as an opening to seek stipulations of your own. Indeed, I recommend asking for a stipulation favorable to your client in exchange.
Does a Stipulation Bind Me at Trial?
Yes, but only if the stipulation is valid, meaning it addresses a matter that litigants can stipulate to, and the court accepts it.
Usually courts will accept and enforce valid stipulations. However, stipulations are not absolute.
For example, a federal court has stated:
“Allowing parties easily to set aside or modify stipulations would defeat this purpose, wasting judicial resources and undermining future confidence in such agreements. Thus, ‘[i]t is a well-recognized rule of law that valid stipulations entered into freely and fairly, and approved by the court, should not be lightly set aside’. However, in spite of the severe limitations placed on withdrawing stipulations, they are not absolute, and courts can grant parties relief from them.”
The trial court might allow you to withdraw from the stipulation if there was a mistake of fact or law, mutual mistake, fraud, misrepresentation, a change in circumstance, or some other occurrence resulting in injustice if the stipulation stands.
Further, the court may interpret the stipulation narrowly if a dispute arises and it is unclear what the parties meant.
In addition, the Industrial Commission has held that parties are bound to stipulations of fact and compensability made at the workers comp hearing.
Therefore, you should not enter stipulations without considering all the potential consequences. The court may not permit you to back out of it, costing you the case.
Top-Quality Representation for Your Injury Case
If you were hurt at work or by someone’s negligence, you might be entitled to workers compensation benefits (including a cash settlement) or other monetary awards.
Contact us today for help pursuing your insurance claim or litigating your injury case to a successful resolution.
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