Rule 408 excludes offers, acceptances, and statements made in compromise negotiations when offered to prove or disprove a disputed claim or for impeachment by contradiction. It permits admission for other purposes.
A dispute must exist for the rule to apply.
Alternative Names:
Settlement Offers|Rule 408
Why it Matters?
The requirement that a claim be disputed means pre-dispute communications fall outside the rule, so statements made before a claim was asserted or its validity questioned are admissible. That boundary catches parties who assume any settlement-oriented discussion is protected. Permitted purposes including proving bias, negating undue delay, and showing an effort to obstruct also create routes to admission the rule's general framing obscures.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Does the rule cover pre-dispute communications?
What purposes permit admission?
