Case Title: Target Stores v. AUTOMATED MAINTENANCE SERV.

Citation: 492 N.W.2d 899

Docket Number: 920108

State: north-dakota

Court: North Dakota Supreme Court

Date: 1992-11-24T00:00:00Z

Document:
492 N.W.2d 899 (1992) TARGET STORES, A DIVISION OF DAYTON HUDSON CORPORATION, a Minnesota corporation, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. AUTOMATED MAINTENANCE SERVICES, INC., a North Dakota corporation, Defendant, Third-Party Plaintiff and Appellee, v. BEHM'S PROPANE, INC., Third-Party Defendant, and Pioneer/Eclipse Corporation, Third-Party Defendant and Appellant. Civ. No. 920108. Supreme Court of North Dakota. November 24, 1992. *900 Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, Chicago, Ill., for plaintiff and appellee Target Stores; argued by Thomas G. Mattson. Appearance by David A. Engen. Christian A. Preus (argued), Minneapolis, Minn., for defendant, third-party plaintiff and appellee Automated Maintenance Services, Inc. Jeffries, Olson & Flom, Moorhead, Minn., for third-party defendant and appellant Pioneer/Eclipse Corp., argued by Joel A. Flom. MESCHKE, Justice. To answer a certified question of law, we clarify the current status of the law of contribution between concurrent tort-feasors who have not acted in concert. Because, without concerted action, liability of each tort-feasor is now several rather than joint, we conclude that, currently, a sued tort-feasor cannot maintain a third-party claim for contribution against a tort-feasor not sued by the injured claimant. Pursuant to NDRAppP 47, the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota, Northeastern Division, Honorable Rodney S. Webb presiding, stated the relevant facts and the nature of the controversy for the question certified: In a footnote, the court added: With these facts, the court certified this question of law: We answer, Yes. A non-sued tort-feasor, who did not act in concert with, nor aid or encourage a sued tort-feasor, nor ratify or adopt that tort-feasor's act, is not liable for contribution to the sued tort-feasor. Since 1957, the right of contribution among tort-feasors has been expressed in NDCC 32-38-01. The controlling provision is subsection 2 of that section: From 1973 until recently, that section was supplemented by another relevant statutory directive. For damages from negligence resulting in death or injury to persons or property, "[w]hen there are two or more *902 persons who are jointly liable, contributions to awards must be in proportion to the percentage of negligence attributable to each; provided, however, that each shall remain jointly and severally liable for the whole award." NDCC 9-10-07. See Bartels v. City of Williston, 276 N.W.2d 113, 121 (N.D.1979) (Enactment of NDCC 9-10-07 in 1973 impliedly repealed conflicting subsections of NDCC 32-38-02 and 32-38-04, and impliedly substituted allocation of tort damages by percentage of fault in Ch. 32-38). If one tort-feasor paid more than his percentage share, other concurrent tort-feasors were jointly and severally liable to contribute their allocable percentage shares. In 1987, the Legislature enacted a number of tentative tort reforms. Among these, joint liability of concurrent tort-feasors was changed to several liability, absent concerted action. 1987 ND Laws 404, § 2 and 3; NDCC 32-03.2-02 and 32-03.2-03. These tort reforms were made effective only through June 30, 1993. 1987 ND Laws 404, § 15. Thus, NDCC 9-10-07 on comparative negligence, making each tort-feasor jointly and severally liable for the whole award, was "suspended from the effective date of this Act through June 30, 1993." 1987 ND Laws 404, § 15. This suspension makes the tort reforms temporary and tentative. The reforms relevant here directed that responsibility for tort damages be separately allocated among concurrent tort-feasors on a percentage basis, rather than jointly and severally, absent concerted action. NDCC 32-03.2-02 and 32-03.2-03. In Kavadas v. Lorenzen, while upholding the constitutionality of NDCC 32-03.2-02, we characterized the purpose of the reforms: 448 N.W.2d 219, 223 (N.D.1989). To implement these goals, the Legislature created two categories of tort-feasors: Tort-feasors who act in concert are jointly liable, and all other concurrent and successive tort-feasors are severally liable. Two sections are relevant here. NDCC 32-03.2-02 governs "negligence." Target's claim against Automated is for simple negligence. NDCC 32-03.2-03 governs "product liability involving negligence." Automated's claim against Pioneer/Eclipse is for product liability involving negligence. Regardless of which section applies, the governing language is the same: NDCC 32-03.2-02 and 32-03.2-03 (part of each). These directives make the liability of each tort-feasor separate and several, instead of joint, unless they acted in concert in causing the injury. The legislative history of 1987 ND Laws 404, §§ 2 and 3, does not ascribe the source of the "concerted action" categories stated in NDCC 32-03.2-02 and 32-03.2-03. Still, the language of the "concerted action" exceptions is phrased remarkably parallel to Prosser's postulation of the joint liability of tort-feasors for "concerted action" in the common law. See W. Page Keeton et al., Prosser and Keeton on The Law of Torts § 46 at 323 (5th ed. 1984): *903 (Footnotes omitted). [Compare that formulation with the description in Restatement (Second) of Torts § 876 (1977) ("Persons Acting in Concert") and § 877 ("Directing or Permitting Conduct of Another"), and in 74 Am.Jur.2d Torts § 61 (1974)]. This joint liability differs from the traditional liability that was severally imposed by the common law on other concurrent or successive tort-feasors when the harm was not considered to be single and indivisible. See Prosser and Keeton, § 52 at 345 on "Apportionment of Damages"; Restatement (Second) of Torts § 433A (1964). A summary of HB 1571 presented at a hearing before the Senate Committee on Judiciary on March 11, 1987 says that NDCC 32-03.2-02 and 32-03.2-03 were intended to make "[t]he liability of each party ... several, not joint, unless the parties acted in concert." This aspect of the tort reforms seems to largely, though tentatively, change allocation of tort responsibility back to the method used at an earlier stage of North Dakota law. For instance, Boulger v. Northern Pac. Ry. held that 41 N.D. 316, 171 N.W. 632, 634 (1918). That court explained: Id. A half-century later, in Thorson v. City of Minot, 153 N.W.2d 764 (N.D.1967), this court shifted course and declined to apply Boulger in allocating tort damages from concurrent acts of several tort-feasors who did not act in concert. The Thorson court allowed the claimants to recover all of the damages from the sued tort-feasor, treating that tort-feasor as jointly and severally liable, because each concurrent tort-feasor could recover contribution from others not sued under NDCC 32-38-01. Thorson, 153 N.W.2d at 773. In doing so, North Dakota was following a growing national trend. See 74 Am.Jur.2d Torts § 361-64 (1974). The change embodied in NDCC 32-03.2-02 and 32-03.2-03 tentatively turns away from that trend and restores separate allocation of tort responsibility, unless there is concerted action. To that extent, this is a return to the English common law rule. See 74 Am. Jur.2d Torts § 61. Yet, this change may not persist past 1993, when the temporary reforms are scheduled to expire, and the suspended directive in NDCC 9-10-07 would again become effective without new legislation. If that happens, each concurrent tort-feasor would then "remain jointly and severally liable for the whole award" and again be subject to contribution in proportion to that tort-feasor's percentage of negligence. Pioneer/Eclipse argues that it cannot be held jointly liable to Target and cannot be required to contribute to Automated's liability because there is no claim that Pioneer/Eclipse acted in concert with Automated. We agree. In its statement of relevant facts, the certifying court explained that "[t]here is no allegation that Pioneer/Eclipse and Automated acted in concert, aided or encouraged each other, or ratified or adopted for their benefit, a tortious act committed by either of them." Under current North Dakota law, the lack of concerted action by concurrent tort-feasors precludes contribution among them. When liability of a concurrent tort-feasor is statutorily directed to *904 be several, that directive precludes liability of the tort-feasor for more than a percentage share of the damages, and precludes a claim for contribution between concurrent tort-feasors. Despite the court's certification that no concerted action was pleaded, Target argues that "evidence at trial will prove that Automated ratified and/or adopted for its benefit acts of Pioneer/Eclipse which Automated claims are tortious." Yet, the certifying court also explained that "[t]he deadline for amending the pleadings to allow Target to assert a direct claim against Pioneer/Eclipse has expired." Even if we assume that Automated will try to defend by shifting the blame for damages to Pioneer/Eclipse in supplying buffers "that did not operate properly when the propane tanks were overfull," we cannot understand how Target expects to benefit from that evidence when it has made no claim based on that theory. Automated correctly says that, under our present comparative fault law, it is legally responsible only for that percentage share of the injury attributable to its fault. Yet, Automated argues that if it can potentially be held responsible for more than its percentage share of the damages, it should be allowed to maintain a third-party claim for contribution against Pioneer/Eclipse, and to keep Pioneer/Eclipse in the case through trial. Even though our N.D.R.Civ.P. 15(b) is the same as Fed. R.Civ.P. 15(b) on amendment of the pleadings to conform to the evidence, amendment of the pleadings is a matter for the certifying court to control under its rules of procedure, not a matter of North Dakota tort law for this court to decide. A third-party claim for contribution, like this one by Automated against Pioneer/Eclipse, is bootless when there is no pleading that the added party acted in concert with the third-party claimant.[1] On the facts stated by the certifying court, we conclude that any liability of each party, Automated and Pioneer/Eclipse, is several, not joint, because no concerted action is claimed. Therefore, Automated cannot be liable to Target for more than its percentage share of Target's damages, and Automated cannot make a third-party claim for contribution against Pioneer/Eclipse. Under current North Dakota law, the absence of a claim for concerted action among concurrent tort-feasors precludes a third-party claim for contribution between them. ERICKSTAD, C.J., and LEVINE, VANDE WALLE and JOHNSON, JJ., concur. [1] If Target were to establish at trial that Automated ratified or adopted a tortious act of Pioneer/Eclipse, it is conceivable that Automated may be held liable to Target for doing so. If so, it may be arguable whether this liability is for Automated's own acts, or for concerted action with Pioneer/Eclipse. See, for examples, Restatement (Second) of Torts § 876 cmt. on Clause (c), and Illus. 13 and 14. But this different question has not been certified to us. The answer would no doubt depend on facts yet to be determined.