No CPR rule has kept the lawyers and the rule drafters as busy as Part 36. 25 years ago, only a defendant could make an offer to settle which had deemed costs consequences if it was accepted, or was not beaten by the plaintiff (as the claimant then was) if the matter went to trial. That was by making a payment into court under Order 22 of the Rules of the Supreme Court (RSC). There was nothing in the RSC which permitted a plaintiff to make an offer which had deemed costs consequences if the defendant refused to accept it when that would have been the correct thing to do.
