Opinion ID: 1249586
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Disclosure of Settlements

Text: Wardell finally contends that the trial court erred by ruling that Wyoming's comparative negligence law required the pretrial settlements with the hospital and the school district to be disclosed to the jury. The doctors counter that Wardell should not be heard to complain because he invited the alleged error; i.e., Wardell insisted that the jury be informed of either nothing or everything about the settlements. We agree with Wardell and disagree with the doctors. We do not believe that the disclosure of settlements is required under Wyoming's comparative negligence law. The relevant statutory section provides in pertinent part: (b) The court may, and when requested by any party shall: (i) . . . . (B) Inform the jury of the consequences of its determination of the percentage of fault. Wyo.Stat. § 1-1-109(b)(i)(B) (1988). This language has been interpreted in practice to require that the jury be informed (1) that a plaintiff will not recover any damages if he is found to be more than fifty percent at fault, and (2) that each defendant is liable for only that portion of the total damage award which corresponds to his percentage of fault. See Wyoming Civil Pattern Jury Instructions 10.01A and 10.03A (1988). We believe that § 1-1-109(b)(i)(B) is satisfied once a jury receives instruction on the points outlined above. The jury should then understand the consequences of attributing fault under Wyoming's comparative negligence law. The admission of settlement evidence is not necessary to this understanding. Therefore, whether or not settlement evidence is to be admitted in a particular case must be determined under the Wyoming Rules of Evidence. We hold that the trial court erred in ruling that disclosure of settlements is required by Wyoming's comparative negligence law. We have previously recognized that, under the doctrine of invited error, a party may not complain of action which he induced the trial court to take. Thatcher & Sons, Inc. v. Norwest Bank Casper, N.A., 750 P.2d 1324 (Wyo.1988). The key to determining whether this rule of law applies is identifying the party who induced the allegedly erroneous action. The record discloses that Peters requested that the settlements be disclosed to the jury. Wardell's pretrial posture was that no mention should be made of the settlements. It was only after the trial court ruled to allow disclosure of the settlements that Wardell insisted that, to prevent juror speculation, the jury also be informed regarding the settlement amounts. The doctrine of invited error does not apply to Wardell under these circumstances.