Aguilar

This personal injury lawsuit following a motor vehicle accident has spawned years of litigation. In the first appeal, we reversed the entry of a judgment notwithstanding the verdict and ordered the trial court to reinstate the $2.3 million verdict in favor of respondent Ed Aguilar. The trial court reinstated the verdict and then ordered appellant Farmers Insurance Exchange (Farmers) to pay Aguilar’s costs. The costs were substantial because Aguilar had made an offer pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 998 (section 998), which Farmers had rejected.

In this appeal, Farmers cites no case suggesting it was improper for the trial court to consider whether an insurer may be liable for an excess judgment when evaluating whether a section 998 offer was reasonable, and we decline to be the first court to so hold. We affirm the cost award.

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

On January 3, 2004, Aguilar and Larry Gostischef were involved in a motor vehicle accident. At the time of the accident, Gostischef was insured by Farmers with a policy containing a $100,000 limit for each person. Aguilar was injured badly, and the parties agree that costs amounting to $507,718 were reasonable and…