Opinion ID: 1505643
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Heading: Pure Versus Modified Comparison

Text: We must now decide, however, whether to adopt modified or pure comparative apportionment. Under a modified system, as exemplified by article 2212a, a claimant's recovery is entirely barred if his share of causation is found to be greater than the total causation attributed to the defendants. Under a pure system, on the other hand, a claimant can recover the percentage of damages caused by the defendants, regardless of the extent of his own causation. Most authorities agree that a pure comparative scheme is preferable to a modified one and that when possible, courts should allow pure comparison, especially in products cases. See, e.g., V. Schwartz, supra §§ 12.6, 12.7 at 207, 209; Prosser, Comparative Negligence, 51 Mich.L.Rev. 465, 494 (1953); Special Project, supra at 421-24. Moreover, when not restricted by statutes, courts almost invariably opt for pure comparison because they recognize the relative inefficiency and reduced deterrent effect of modified comparative apportionment. Special Project, supra at 424; see also Daly v. General Motors Corp., 575 P.2d at 1168-69, 144 Cal.Rptr. at 386-87. On two prior occasions, this court has chosen pure comparison in products cases. Signal Oil & Gas Co. v. Universal Oil Products, 572 S.W.2d 320 (Tex.1978) (breach of implied warranty actions); General Motors Corp. v. Hopkins, 548 S.W.2d 344 (Tex.1977) (product misuse). In this case, the policies underlying strict liability in tort will be best served by pure comparison. The rule of Art. 2212a, barring recovery by a plaintiff found to be 51% or more responsible, was a legislative compromise in negligence cases, a holdover from contributory negligence. No sound reason exists for allowing a defendant to escape liability which the jury has allocated to him, irrespective of the responsibility allocated to the plaintiff. See Murray v. Fairbanks Morse, 610 F.2d 149, 162 (3d Cir.1979). Accordingly, we decline to judicially engraft the rule contained in Art. 2212a barring recovery by a plaintiff found to be 51% or more responsible. We therefore hold that in products liability cases in which at least one defendant is found liable on a theory other than negligence, the plaintiff's damages shall be reduced only by the percentage of causation attributed to the plaintiff, regardless of how large or small that percentage may be. A plaintiff may recover the percentage of damages caused by the defendants, even though his own share of causation is greater than that attributed to the defendants individually or combined. Additionally, each defendant found to have been a cause of the plaintiff's injuries shall be jointly and severally liable for the entire amount that the plaintiff is entitled to recover, subject to a right of contribution for payments in excess of the defendant's percentage share. We reject any limitation on joint and several liability such as that contained in Art. 2212a § 2(c). The existence of joint and several liability becomes important when one or more defendants are insolvent. When a defendant is insolvent, the goal of allocating the loss among those responsible cannot be achieved. Nevertheless, joint and several liability in such cases furthers the fundamental policy of tort law to compensate those who are injured. [9] Imposing the risk of an insolvent defendant on the remaining defendants is justified as a matter of policy because the defendants' conduct or products endangered another person, the plaintiff, while the plaintiff's conduct only endangered himself. See American Motorcycle Association v. Superior Court, 20 Cal.3d 578, 578 P.2d 899, 146 Cal.Rptr. 182 (1978). Furthermore, the plaintiff seeks recovery for physical injuries, but defendants' claims for contribution are merely economic. Finally, a solvent manufacturer is better able to spread the loss than is the plaintiff. Article 2212a will, of course, continue to govern cases in which the plaintiff alleges only negligence or where the plaintiff fails to obtain findings of defect and producing cause, or breach of warranty, against a product supplier who has been joined with a negligent defendant.