Opinion ID: 1542810
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Appellants are entitled to a $40,000 setoff

Text: Appellants' final argument concerning the damages awards is that the trial court erred in not reducing the compensatory damages award of $60,000 by the amount of the $40,000 settlement that Wilson reached with Houlon Berman (the law firm involved in the transaction, with whom Wilson settled). We agree and direct the trial court to apply the setoff to the trebled compensatory award. The question of `how to credit the judgment entered upon a jury verdict against a nonsettling defendant with the proceeds a settling defendant paid to the plaintiff' is purely a question of law, which this court reviews de novo.  Paul v. Bier, 758 A.2d 40, 42 (D.C.2000) (citing Berg v. Footer, 673 A.2d 1244, 1247 (D.C.1996) (internal citations omitted)). On appeal, both parties agree that a setoff is appropriate. They disagree, however, on when the setoff amount should be subtracted from the compensatory damages. Wilson contends that appellants are entitled to a set-off from the $180,000 trebled compensatory damage award, while appellants argue the amount should be subtracted before trebling (which would reduce the compensatory damages to $20,000). In its order denying appellants' motion for JNOV or for a new trial, the trial court was unable to determine whether Defendant is entitled to a pro rata credit based on Plaintiff's settlement with the joint tortfeasor, [Houlon Berman] because of the absence of either a judicial determination or a stipulation among the parties that [Houlon Berman] was a joint tortfeasor with the other Defendants. Having reviewed the record, however, we note that the General Release and Agreement states that damages recovered in the lawsuit are hereby reduced by the amount of the consideration paid for this release, or to the extent of the pro rata share of [Houlon Berman], whichever is greater and that Houlon Berman is to be considered a joint tortfeasor with any other tortfeasors liable to Claimant for damages arising out of the Claims to the same extent as if the Released Party was adjudicated to be a joint tortfeasor by a final judgment of a court of record after a trial on the merits. We have previously recognized that a setoffa demand which the defendant has against the plaintiff, arising out of a transaction extrinsic to the plaintiff's cause of actionis applied after the initial damages are multiplied. [29] District Cablevision, supra, 828 A.2d at 730 n. 21 (emphasis included in original) (citations omitted), see also id. at 731 n. 22. Therefore, appellants are entitled to a pro rata setoff from the $180,000 treble compensatory award, reducing appellants' liability to $140,000 in compensatory damages.