Source: https://scocal.stanford.edu/opinion/mesler-v-bragg-management-co-28467
Timestamp: 2020-08-05 02:20:42
Document Index: 293703032

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1042', '§ 1048', '§ 875', '§ 876', '§ 877', '§ 877', '§ 878', '§ 39', '§ 1', '§ 2330', '§ 2338', '§ 1', '§ 295', '§ 187', '§ 299', '§ 188']

Mesler v. Bragg Management Co. - 39 Cal.3d 290 - Thu, 08/01/1985 | California Supreme Court Resources
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Citation 39 Cal.3d 290
Mesler v. Bragg Management Co.
Mesler v. Bragg Management Co. (1985) 39 Cal.3d 290 , 216 Cal.Rptr. 443; 702 P.2d 601
We consider whether a plaintiff may pursue a tort action against a parent corporation on the theory that it is the alter ego of its subsidiary, the alleged tortfeasor, after entering into a settlement and release agreement with the subsidiary. At issue is the applicability of Code of Civil Procedure section 877, fn. 1 which abrogates the common law rule that settlement [39 Cal.3d 295] with one alleged tortfeasor bars action against any others claimed liable for the same injury. We conclude that the statute does apply, and thus release of an alleged tortfeasor under these circumstances does not preclude suit against its claimed alter ego.
Over two years after plaintiff filed his complaint, following discovery that revealed both Crescent Coke and Bragg Crane to be wholly owned subsidiaries [39 Cal.3d 296] of another entity, Bragg Management Company (hereafter sometimes called defendant), plaintiff substituted the latter as Doe I. Bragg Management moved for summary judgment on the ground that it had no connection whatever with the dozer, the workplace, or plaintiff. The trial court stated that plaintiff appeared to rely on an alter ego theory to hold Bragg Management liable, and that although much discovery had been conducted on the issue an alter ego theory had not been pleaded. Despite plaintiff's request to amend the pleadings, the court granted defendant's motion. Plaintiff appeals from the judgment entered on this ruling.
Section 473 provides that "in furtherance of justice" a court may allow a party to amend its pleadings. [1] When a request to amend has been denied, an appellate court is confronted by two conflicting policies. On the one hand, the trial court's discretion should not be disturbed unless it has been clearly abused; on the other, there is a strong policy in favor of liberal allowance of amendments. This conflict "is often resolved in favor of the [39 Cal.3d 297] privilege of amending, and reversals are common where the appellant makes a reasonable showing of prejudice from the ruling." (3 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (2d ed. 1971) Pleading, § 1042, pp. 2620-2621.) [2] Unfair surprise to the opposing party is also to be considered. (Id., § 1048, p. 2623.) fn. 3
At common law if a plaintiff sued two or more tortfeasors and settled with one, the others were released. The rationale for this rule was that the plaintiff had suffered only one injury, for which there could be only one satisfaction. As each tortfeasor was jointly and severally liable for the entire injury, a settlement with any of them fully compensated the plaintiff. To permit the plaintiff to proceed against the others would sanction double recovery. (Lamoreux v. San Diego etc. Ry. Co. (1957) 48 Cal.2d 617, 624 [311 P.2d 1]; Chetwood v. California National Bank (1896) 113 Cal. 414, 426 [45 P. 704]; Thaxter, Joint Tortfeasors: Legislative Changes in the [39 Cal.3d 298] Rules Regarding Releases and Contribution (1958) 9 Hastings L.J. 180, 182.)
In order to avoid this harsh rule, the covenant not to sue was developed. These covenants were not releases, but rather promises not to prosecute a lawsuit against the covenantee. Since the "language is of covenant and indemnity, not of release" (Kincheloe v. Retail Credit Co., Inc. (1935) 4 Cal.2d 21, 23 [46 P.2d 971]), it would not preclude suit against other tortfeasors. (Ibid.) The problem then became whether an instrument should be interpreted as a release or a covenant not to sue. As this court recognized, "the distinction between a release and a covenant not to sue is entirely artificial. As between the parties to the agreement, the final result is the same in both cases, namely, that there is no further recovery from the defendant who makes the settlement, and the difference in the effect as to third parties is based mainly, if not entirely, on the fact that in one case, there is an immediate release, whereas in the other there is an agreement not to prosecute a suit." (Pellett v. Sonotone Corp. (1945) 26 Cal.2d 705, 711 [160 P.2d 783, 160 A.L.R. 863].)
Section 877 is but one part of a package of legislation entitled "Releases From and Contribution Among Joint Tortfeasors." Included therein is a [39 Cal.3d 299] section providing for contribution among joint judgment debtors (§ 875), a provision for the determination of each judgment debtor's pro rata share (§ 876), section 877 which abrogates the common law release rule, a section added in 1977 to deal with sliding scale agreements (§ 877.5), a section enacted after American Motorcycle Assn. v. Superior Court (1978) 20 Cal.3d 578 [146 Cal.Rptr. 182, 578 P.2d 899], establishing procedures for determining whether a settlement is in good faith (§ 877.6), and a provision detailing the procedure a judgment debtor may follow to obtain contribution from another tortfeasor (§ 878).
Defendant cites as controlling a federal district court case, Fuls v. Shastina Properties, Inc. (N.D.Cal. 1978) 448 F.Supp. 983. That case arose from the defendants' alleged fraud in selling certain property to the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs sued Shastina Properties, its sales agents, and its alleged alter ego, Beverly Enterprises. Subsequently, the plaintiffs entered a settlement and release agreement with the sales agents, which the court found to include by its express language Shastina Properties. (Id., at p. 989.) The court dispensed with the plaintiffs' claim against Beverly Enterprises in one brief paragraph: "Beverly is alleged to have been the alter ego of Shastina Properties. Under California law, a corporation is treated as being the alter ego of another corporation only if there is 'such a unity of interest and ownership that the individuality of such corporation and the owner or owners of its stock has ceased.' [Citation.] Where the alter ego doctrine applies, therefore, the two corporations are treated as one for purposes of determining liability. It follows that where the one corporation is released from liability, so too is the other. Thus, it is unnecessary to consider whether Beverly was in fact the alter ego of Shastina Properties in this case. If it were, it would also be released by the Agreement." (Ibid.; see also M/V American Queen v. San Diego Marine Const. (9th Cir. 1983) 708 F.2d 1483, 1490 (citing and relying on Fuls).)
These cases do not settle the matter. To begin with, of course, decisions of the federal courts interpreting California law are persuasive but not binding. Second, the cursory reasoning of Fuls would not be controlling in any event, for it contains no discussion whatever of section 877 or the cases [39 Cal.3d 300] interpreting it. Further, the decision is based on a misinterpretation of the alter ego doctrine in California.
[6] There is no litmus test to determine when the corporate veil will be pierced; rather the result will depend on the circumstances of each particular case. There are, nevertheless, two general requirements: "(1) that there be such unity of interest and ownership that the separate personalities of the corporation and the individual no longer exist and (2) that, if the acts are treated as those of the corporation alone, an inequitable result will follow." (Automotriz etc. de California v. Resnick (1957) 47 Cal.2d 792, 796 [306 P.2d 1, 63 A.L.R.2d 1042].) And "only a difference in wording is used in stating the same concept where the entity sought to be held liable is another corporation instead of an individual." (McLoughlin v. L. Bloom Sons Co., Inc. (1962) 206 Cal.App.2d 848, 851 [24 Cal.Rptr. 311].)
In Kohn v. Kohn (1950) 95 Cal.App.2d 708 [214 P.2d 71], a marriage dissolution case, the question was whether the husband's corporation was the alter ego of the husband so that its income should have been included in the determination of his liability. The court explained the alter ego doctrine: "The issue is not so much whether, for all purposes, the corporation is the 'alter ego' of its stockholders or officers, nor whether the very purpose [39 Cal.3d 301] of the organization of the corporation was to defraud the individual who is now in court complaining, as it is an issue of whether in the particular case presented and for the purposes of such case justice and equity can best be accomplished and fraud and unfairness defeated by a disregard of the distinct entity of the corporate form." (Id. at p. 718.) "In the instant case there may well have been various business reasons sufficient to justify and support the formation or continuation of the corporation on the part of defendant. For such purposes the [corporation] still stands." (Id., at p. 719.) However, to the extent the purpose of the corporation was to fraudulently deprive the wife of a fair property settlement, the corporate entity would be disregarded: "The law of this state is that the separate corporate entity will not be honored where to do so would be to defeat the rights and equities of third persons." (Id., at p. 720; see also McLoughlin v. L. Bloom Sons Co., Inc., supra, 206 Cal.App.2d 848, 854 [bypassing the corporate entity to reach an alter ego corporation for the sole purpose of avoiding an injustice, otherwise the corporations remain separate].)
Nevertheless the alter ego corporation would be dismissed together with the subsidiary under the common law release rule, unless section 877 applies. Defendant maintains that this section is applicable only to joint tortfeasors and cannot control when alter ego is alleged as the basis for the nonsettlor's liability. The point is untenable. In 1982 the Legislature amended [39 Cal.3d 302] the contribution statute, changing its title to "Contribution Among Joint Judgment Debtors" and dividing it into two chapters. The first chapter, consisting of sections 875 to 880, retains the old denomination, "Releases From and Contribution Among Joint Tortfeasors." The sections remain unchanged. The second chapter, consisting of sections 881 to 883, is entitled "Contribution Among Other Judgment Debtors." It has been argued that section 877 covers only joint tortfeasors, while the fate of parties other than joint tortfeasors must be determined by chapter 2. (Mayhugh v. County of Orange (1983) 141 Cal.App.3d 763, 774 [190 Cal.Rptr. 537] (dis. opn. of McDaniel, J.).)
The short answer to this argument is that chapter 2 deals only with judgment debtors and their rights to obtain contribution from other tortfeasors, and thus is not applicable to cases involving prejudgment settlements. fn. 4 [8] More to the point, the language of section 877 is significant ¶ its drafters did not use the narrow term "joint tortfeasors," they used the broad term "tortfeasors claimed to be liable for the same tort." This language was meant to eliminate the distinction between joint tortfeasors and concurrent or successive tortfeasors (4 Witkin, Summary of Cal. Law (8th ed. 1974) Torts, § 39, p. 2338), and to permit broad application of the statute. (City of Sacramento v. Gemsch Investment Co. (1981) 115 Cal.App.3d 869, 877 [171 Cal.Rptr. 764]; Ritter v. Technicolor Corp. (1972) 27 Cal.App.3d 152, 154 [103 Cal.Rptr. 686].) Further, another section in chapter 1 expressly extends beyond application to joint tortfeasors: section 876, subdivision (b), applies to "one or more persons ... liable solely for the tort of one of them or of another, as in the case of the liability of a master for the tort of his servant."
[9] Analogous to the issue before us is the question whether a principal alleged to be vicariously liable in tort for the acts of its agent is subject to suit following settlement with the agent. The principal is held vicariously liable not because it was necessarily at fault, but because justice requires that the enterprise be responsible for the risks of conducting its business. (Hinman v. Westinghouse Elec. Co. (1970) 2 Cal.3d 956, 959-960 [88 Cal.Rptr. 188, 471 P.2d 988]; Rodgers v. Kemper Const. Co. (1975) 50 Cal.App.3d 608, 618 [124 Cal.Rptr. 143].) Similarly, the parent corporation is liable for the acts of its subsidiary under the alter ego doctrine because justice requires that the corporate wall be breached. "Although the subsidiary may not be an agent in any true sense, the justification for a parent's or affiliate's liability is analogous to the justification of the liability [39 Cal.3d 303] of a principal for acts of a general agent. The principal himself may have done nothing to mislead the third party, but may still be bound by a contract made by the agent within the general scope of his authority .... Although a parent or affiliate corporation has done nothing affirmative to prejudice the third party, it may similarly be just to hold it liable, but only if the creditor can show the kind of hardship which seems to be assumed as a matter of law in the general-agency situation. ... An involuntary creditor who has had foisted upon him a subsidiary unable to respond in damages has a greater equity." (Note, Liability of a Corporation for Acts of a Subsidiary or Affiliate (1958) 71 Harv.L.Rev. 1122, 1130.)
[10] The rule is clear in California that section 877 applies to principal-agent liability. In Ritter v. Technicolor Corp., supra, 27 Cal.App.3d 152, the plaintiff sued the defendant film distribution corporation, another corporation, and two agents of the latter. The plaintiff and all but the defendant entered a settlement and release, and the latter then sought a dismissal with prejudice. Proclaiming that the wording of the statute was broad enough to apply to situations involving parties that could not be considered "true" joint tortfeasors, the court found "inescapable the conclusion that under section 877, the liability of a principal for the tortious acts of his agent, even though wholly vicarious, survives the release of the agent." (Id. at p. 154.) In Mayhugh v. County of Orange, supra, 141 Cal.App.3d 763, 766, the Court of Appeal reaffirmed Ritter. It emphasized that the Legislature, while enacting section 877.6 in 1980, did not modify or overturn Ritter. (Ibid.) [11] Since the Legislature is presumed to be aware of existing judicial decisions (Estate of McDill (1975) 14 Cal.3d 831, 839 [122 Cal.Rptr. 754, 537 P.2d 874]), we can presume that it acquiesced in the application of section 877 to parties alleged to be vicariously liable. fn. 5
It has been argued that because liability of the principal is wholly dependent on liability of the agent, dismissal of the agent removes the basis of the principal's responsibility. (Mayhugh v. County of Orange, supra, 141 Cal.App.3d 763, 770 (dis. opn. by McDaniel, J.).) However, it does not follow that because judgment in favor of the agent exonerates the principal (Will v. Southern Pacific Co. (1941) 18 Cal.2d 468, 472-473 [116 P.2d 44]), release of the agent has the same effect. A judgment. in favor of the [39 Cal.3d 304] agent means that under our system of law the plaintiff should not recover under the circumstances presented. A settlement has no such implication; it means simply that the parties have agreed to resolve their problems outside the courtroom. Thus liability of the principal ¶ or parent corporation in the alter ego situation ¶ has not been disproved. (See Sampay v. Morton Salt Co. (La. 1981) 395 So.2d 326, 328 [24 A.L.R.4th 541] ["Although the employer and employee are not joint torfeasors, they are nonetheless each obligated for the same thing ¶ total reparation of the damages to the victim. The derivative nature of the employer's liability is of no concern to the victim, and he can compel either the employer or the employee to compensate him for the whole of his damages"].) The liability of the principal (or parent) is not affected by the route the agent (or subsidiary) chooses to take in disposing of the action.
[12] An examination of the various policies underlying the contribution legislation further supports the rule that release of the subsidiary does not release its alter ego. In Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. International Harvester Co. (1978) 82 Cal.App.3d 492, 496 [147 Cal.Rptr. 262], the court recognized three interests at work in section 877: "First ... is maximization of recovery to the injured party for the amount of his injury to the extent fault of others has contributed to it. ... Second is encouragement of settlement of the injured party's claim. ... Third is the equitable apportionment of liability among the tortfeasors."
The statute must be interpreted to allow the plaintiff full recovery to the extent that others are responsible for his injuries. (See Thornton v. Luce (1962) 209 Cal.App.2d 542, 552 [26 Cal.Rptr. 393].) This policy would be violated if a corporation alleged to be liable as the alter ego of its subsidiary were to be dismissed because the subsidiary has settled with the plaintiff, especially if the plaintiff has accepted a modest settlement because the subsidiary is undercapitalized. The court held, in Mayhugh v. County of Orange, supra, 141 Cal.App.3d 763, 766: "[Sections 877 and 877.6] were designed to clarify the liability of tortfeasors and to benefit the negligently injured plaintiff. The Legislature could not have intended that a settlement with one defendant which partially compensates the plaintiff for injuries sustained would effectively block the road to complete recovery. Release of the employer after settlement with the employee would accomplish such a road block and frustrate the purposes of the statute." fn. 6 [39 Cal.3d 305]
A second goal of the contribution statute is the early and final settlement of claims. A potential problem could arise in vicarious liability situations because the contribution statutes preserve the right of full indemnity. Section 875, subdivision (f), would seem to permit a secondarily liable defendant that has had judgment entered against it to seek indemnification from the primary tortfeasor. This threat of indemnification could keep a primarily liable defendant from settling. This court has not yet addressed the question whether an employer-judgment debtor has a right to obtain indemnification from an employee who has settled with the plaintiff. However, to the extent such a right exists, "In light of the clear legislative expression, ... we must assume that this contingency was foreseen, and that this result was felt desirable." (Ritter v. Technicolor Corp., supra, 27 Cal.App.3d 152, 155.) Moreover, in the alter ego arena, where the corporations involved have comparable control, it is unlikely that the parent will sue the subsidiary for indemnity unless to do so would be in the best interests of both corporations. Finally, it should be noted that in many cases the parent and subsidiary will be represented by the same counsel, as is the situation in the case at bar, or by separate counsel working in close collaboration. Thus the easiest method for avoiding indemnity problems is to include both corporations in the settlement.
It should be added that allowing the plaintiff to proceed against the nonsettling parent would reflect the parties' intent. When, as here alleged, the terms of settlement and release expressly include only the subsidiary and no other party, the parent should not magically benefit from the agreement. If it could do so, results unfair to plaintiffs might follow: not realizing that the parent would also be part of the agreement, the plaintiff would base his settlement on the financial capabilities of the only other party to the agreement, the subsidiary. The amount the plaintiff would receive would likely [39 Cal.3d 306] be disproportionately low if the settlement discharged the parent as well as the subsidiary. And as for the protection of the corporations, the solution is simple: both parties could and should participate in the negotiations. In this way, with every party's identity fully disclosed, an agreement fair to all can be reached.
The majority indulges in frequent analogies to and reliance upon cases involving agency relationships. "The traditional concept of agency refers [39 Cal.3d 307] to a special legal relationship between separate legal persons as a result of which the acts of one are attributed to the other with attendant legal consequences." (Blumberg, The Law of Corporate Groups (1983) § 1.02.2, at p. 21, fn. omitted, italics added [hereinafter Blumberg].) This special relationship and its concomitant rights and liabilities may be statutorily prescribed: "An agent represents his principal for all purposes within the scope of his actual or ostensible authority, and all the rights and liabilities which would accrue to the agent from transactions within such limit, if they had been entered into on his own account, accrue to the principal." (Civ. Code, § 2330.) The principal's vicarious liability for the acts of his agent extends only to the limits of the agency and to acts "committed by such agent in and as part of the transaction of" the business of the agency, but not to any other acts unless authorized or ratified by the principal. (Id., §§ 2338, 2339.)
For example, the majority first observes that a finding of alter ego does not mean "It is not that a corporation will be held liable for the acts of [39 Cal.3d 308] another corporation because there is really only one corporation." (Ante, p. 301.) This disclaimer however is directly contrary to the generally accepted characterization of the effect of such a finding: "When a case calls for an exception to the entity view, courts usually construct a common identity for the parent and subsidiary corporations, thereby treating them as one." (Blumberg, supra, § 1.02.1 at p. 9; see also 1A Ballantine & Sterling, Cal. Corporation Laws (4th ed. 1984) § 295, at p. 14-32 [hereinafter Ballantine] [courts applying alter ego theory "treat the body of shareholders and the corporation as procedurally synonomous rather than as separate juristic entities"].) In fact, it is because in essence there is functionally but one entity that alter ego is appropriate in a given situation.
The United States District Court in Fuls v. Shastina Properties, Inc. (N.D.Cal. 1978) 448 F.Supp. 983, clearly understood that an alter ego [39 Cal.3d 309] finding must be consistently applied. As it explained, "Where the alter ego doctrine applies, ... the two corporations are treated as one for purposes of determining liability. It follows that where the one corporation is released from liability, so too is the other." (P. 989.) This state of affairs arises, of course, because under the alter ego theory urged by Mesler, Bragg Management can only be liable if Bragg Crane is liable but only because the two entities are viewed as indivisible. (See M/V American Queen v. San Diego Marine Const. (9th Cir. 1983) 708 F.2d 1483, 1490.)
If Mesler had first sued Bragg Crane, settled and judgment had thereupon been entered in Bragg Crane's favor, Mesler would have been estopped from proceeding further against Bragg Management except to the extent that it might have sought to collect from it any unsatisfied portion of the judgment. Plaintiffs often move postjudgment to amend a judgment. in their favor to add a previously unnamed person or entity as a defendant on the ground that it or he is the alter ego of an originally denominated defendant. (See Alexander v. Abbey of the Chimes (1980) 104 Cal.App.3d 39, 44-46 [163 Cal.Rptr. 377]; Code Civ. Proc., § 187.) However, such amendment is not permitted in the absence of a showing of due diligence on the part of the plaintiff, and of participation in the defense of the underlying action by the claimed alter ego. (Minton v. Cavaney (1961) 56 Cal.2d 576, 581 [15 Cal.Rptr. 641, 364 P.2d 473]; Alexander, supra, at pp. 47-48; Ballantine, supra § 299.04 at pp. 14.45-14.46 [factors considered in permitting amendment of judgment to include new defendant].) Such restrictions are necessary to protect the newly named entity's constitutional rights. (See Motores de Mexicali v. Superior Court (1958) 51 Cal.2d 172, 176 [331 P.2d 1].)
The postjudgment use of alter ego doctrine can serve only to obtain collection based on already established liability. Moreover, its availability serves to counter the majority's claims about unsuspecting plaintiffs improvidently settling with an apparently "undercapitalized" corporation. A plaintiff may settle for full value and seek to collect not only from that corporation but also from any alter ego. Plaintiffs must, as noted, exercise due diligence but this encourages careful and timely investigation of claims and possible defendants. A plaintiff may also expressly reserve the right to seek further recovery from an alter ego when the question of the relationship between defendants remains unsettled. (See, e.g., Meyer v. Stern (D.Colo. 1984) 599 F.Supp. 295, 298.) A plaintiff thus may settle and obtain speedy recovery without foreclosing his options as to other potential sources of recovery.
Plaintiff here did not expressly reserve any rights in his settlement. Instead, Mesler's claim against Bragg Management was based on the assertion [39 Cal.3d 310] that it was in fact the alter ego (not the parent or shareholder or superior or principal) of Bragg Crane, and the corporate walls dividing the two entities therefore were illusory. Mesler obviously knew long before his settlement with Bragg Crane of the existence and purported synonymity of Bragg Management, and in fact his motion to amend to add Bragg Management as an alter ego was the original subject of this appeal. It was only during the pendency of the appeal that Mesler settled with Bragg Crane, who, he had been alleging, was the same entity as Bragg Management. It is in this context that Mesler's invocation of Code of Civil Procedure section 877 must be rejected.
­FN 2. Plaintiff's suit against Crescent Coke was dismissed because of a pending workers' compensation proceeding.
­FN 3. Plaintiff argues that the court should not have granted summary judgment because issues of fact remained as to his agency theory. However, although agency was alleged in the pleadings, it was not argued below or supported by affidavits. "Since the object of the [summary judgment] proceeding is to discover proof, the adverse party must file an affidavit in opposition to the motion; he cannot rely on a verified pleading alone." (4 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (2d ed. 1971), italics in original), Proceedings Without Trial, § 188, p. 2837; Hayward, etc. School Dist. v. Madrid (1965) 234 Cal.App.2d 100, 120 [44 Cal.Rptr. 268].) Thus the court did not abuse its discretion by granting summary judgment on the agency issue.
­FN 4. While the settlement in this case occurred after the court granted summary judgment, an appeal was pending. Also, the named defendants were not "judgment debtors," as judgment had been rendered in their favor.
­FN 5. Most states with legislation similar to section 877 hold that release of an agent does not preclude suit against the principal. (See, e.g., Harris v. Aluminum Co. of America (W.D.Va. 1982) 550 F.Supp. 1024, 1030; Alaska Airlines, Inc. v. Sweat (Alaska 1977) 568 P.2d 916, 929-930; Holve v. Draper (1973) 95 Idaho 193, 196-197 [505 P.2d 1265]; Smith v. Raparot (1967) 101 R.I. 565, 567-568 [225 A.2d 666].) However, there is opposing authority. (See, e.g., Craven v. Lawson (Tenn. 1976) 534 S.W.2d 653, 656; see also Annot., Release of, or Covenant not to Sue, One Primarily Liable for Tort, but Expressly Reserving Rights Against One Secondarily Liable, as Bar to Recovery Against Latter (1983) 24 A.L.R.4th 547.)
­FN 6. See also American Motorcycle Assn. v. Superior Court, supra, 20 Cal.3d 578, upholding the joint and several liability rule in the face of the adoption of the doctrine of comparative negligence, and proclaiming that "from a realistic standpoint, we think that AMA's suggested abandonment of the joint and several liability rule would work a serious and unwarranted deleterious effect on the practical ability of negligently injured persons to receive adequate compensation for their injuries. One of the principal by-products of the joint and several liability rule is that it frequently permits an injured person to obtain full recovery for his injuries even when one or more of the responsible parties do not have the financial resources to cover their liability." (Id. at p. 590.)
Thu, 08/01/1985 39 Cal.3d 290 Review - Civil Appeal Opinion issued
1 WESLEY G. MESLER, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. BRAGG MANAGEMENT COMPANY (Defendant and Respondent)
2 BRAGG MANAGEMENT COMPANY (Defendant and Respondent)
Aug 1 1985 Opinion: Reversed
SCOCAL, Mesler v. Bragg Management Co. , 39 Cal.3d 290 available at: (https://scocal.stanford.edu/opinion/mesler-v-bragg-management-co-28467) (last visited Tuesday August 4, 2020).