Sky View At Las Palmas, LLC v. Mendez

The one-satisfaction rule applied to this case, and therefore, the trial court erred in denying the nonsettling defendant settlement credits.At issue on this appeal was Plaintiff’s claims against nonsettling defendants alleging breach of contract, fraud, and other causes of action. Plaintiff had earlier settled with four other defendants. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Plaintiff. The nonsettling defendants asserted that, under the one-satisfaction rule, they were entitled to offset the final judgment by the amounts the four settling defendants paid to Plaintiff, plus interest. The trial court disagreed and rendered judgment against the nonsettling defendants, jointly and severally, for the full jury award. The court of appeals affirmed the trial court’s denial of settlement credits, ruling that Plaintiff’s claims against the nonsettling defendants were independent of the other injuries Plaintiff alleged against the settling defendants. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the nonsettling defendants were entitled to reduce the judgment by the total amount of the settlements Plaintiff received and any applicable interest. View "Sky View At Las Palmas, LLC v. Mendez" on Justia Law