 under the totality of the circumstances here, the trial court correctly denied the motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, but erred in denying the motion for new trial.
Plaintiffs also contend that the trial court erred in refusing to enter judgment on their behalf based upon an offer of settlement which they had accepted within ten days of the offer, albeit subsequent to the defense verdict. We disagree.

I.
Defendants' offer of settlement was received by plaintiffs on September 27, 1991. Trial commenced on September 30, 1991, the defense verdict was received on October 4, 1991, and the offer was accepted on October 7, 1991. As pertinent here, the offer concluded with: "Please consider this an offer of settlement pursuant to C.R.S. Section 13-17-202."
Section 13-17-202(3), C.R.S. (1992 Cum. Supp.) reads:
At any time more than ten days before the trial begins, a party defending against a claim may serve upon the adverse party an offer of settlement to the effect specified in his offer, with costs then accrued. If within ten days after the service of the offer, the adverse party serves written notice that the offer is accepted, either party may then file the offer and notice of acceptance, together with proof of service thereof, and thereupon the clerk shall enter judgment. An *275 offer not accepted shall be deemed withdrawn....
The trial court refused to enter judgment on the offer concluding that, because it was not served at least 10 days before trial, it was not a § 13-17-202 offer. We agree that a post-verdict acceptance would neither comport with the legislative intent to encourage settlements prior to trial nor would a just and reasonable result flow from such an interpretation of the statute. See § 2-4-201(1)(c), C.R.S. (1980 Repl.Vol. 1B).
Subsequent to the announcement of the original opinion herein, our supreme court in Centric-Jones v. District Court, 848 P.2d 942 (Colo.1993) held that a timely offer of judgment pursuant to § 13-17-202(3), C.R.S. (1992 Cum.Supp.) was irrevocable even if 