The dispositive issue on appeal is whether the release of a vicariously liable master by a Pierringer release also as a matter of law releases the directly negligent servant. This issue is raised in the posture of a summary judgment. In considering a motion for summary judgment, the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion, who must be given the benefit of all favorable inferences which may reasonably be drawn from the evidence. Diegel at 370. On appeal, this Court decides if the information available to the trial court precludes the existence of a genuine issue of material fact and entitles the moving party to summary judgment as a matter of law.
Questions of law are fully reviewable on appeal.
State Farm at 292. There is a split of authority whether release of a master's vicarious liability also releases the directly negligent servant's primary liability as a matter of law. Under the majority common law rule, release of one party to the master-servant relationship automatically released the other. The general rule, however, has been modified in many jurisdictions by statutes, including the Uniform Contribution Among Tortfeasors Act. Horejsi at 317-318.