Rule 11-408 Compromise offers and negotiations.

If you try to settle a dispute with someone, whether it's a lawsuit, an insurance claim, or any other disagreement, what you say or offer during those settlement talks generally can't be used against you later in court. This means if you offer money to make a claim go away, or if you make statements while negotiating a settlement, the other side can't use that as proof that you did something wrong or that you owe a certain amount. The same protection applies to the other person's offers and statements too.

The idea behind this rule is simple. People should feel free to try to work out their problems without worrying that anything they say during negotiations will be held against them if the case ends up going to trial anyway. Without this protection, people might avoid settlement talks altogether, which would clog up the courts with more trials.

That said, this rule doesn't block settlement evidence for every purpose. A judge can still allow it if it's being used for a different reason, like showing a witness is biased, proving that someone wasn't just stalling for time, or showing that a person tried to interfere with a criminal investigation. So while settlement talks are generally off limits in court, there are some situations where that evidence can still come in.