Opinion ID: 4189990
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The extent, in the form of a percentage,

Text: of each party’s negligence or fault. The percentage of negligence or fault of each party shall be based on 100% and the total of all percentages of negligence or fault of all the parties to a suit shall be 100%. [N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.2(a).] 4 The common-law indemnification claim asserted by the Morey defendants and dismissed pursuant to N.J.S.A. 59:8-8 in this case is distinct from defendants’ statutory contribution claim. Neither the Comparative Negligence Act nor the Joint Tortfeasors Contribution Act governs a common-law indemnification claim, and an allocation of fault pursuant to those statutes is unrelated to such a claim. See Gulf Oil Corp. v. ACF Indus., Inc., 221 N.J. Super. 420, 431 (App. Div. 1987), certif. denied, 111 N.J. 613 (1988); White v. Newark Morning Star Ledger, 245 N.J. Super. 606, 612 (Law Div. 1990). 19 After the factfinder determines the total damages and allocates fault in accordance with N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.2(a), the trial court molds the judgment based on those findings. N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.2(d). In that calculation, the judge reduces the damages “by the percentage of negligence attributable to the person recovering.” N.J.S.A. 59:9-4. Under another provision, the plaintiff may recover “[t]he full amount of the damages from any party determined by the trier of fact to be 60% or more responsible for the total damages.” N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.3(a). The plaintiff’s recovery from “any party determined by the trier of fact to be less than 60% responsible for the total damages” is limited to “[o]nly that percentage of the damages directly attributable to that party’s negligence or fault,” as determined by the factfinder. N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.3(c). A defendant compelled to pay more than the percentage of damages corresponding to the jury’s allocation of fault to that defendant ordinarily has a remedy under the Comparative Negligence Act: a claim for “contribution from the other joint tortfeasors.” N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.3(e). The contribution claim is governed by the Joint Tortfeasors Contribution Law, in which the Legislature declared that “[t]he right of contribution exists among joint tortfeasors.” N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-2. “The Joint Tortfeasors Contribution Law was enacted to promote the fair sharing of the burden of judgment by joint tortfeasors and to 20 prevent a plaintiff from arbitrarily selecting his or her victim.” Holloway v. State, 125 N.J. 386, 400-01 (1991) (citation omitted). The statute provides that where an injury is caused by the conduct of joint tortfeasors, and a joint tortfeasor pays the judgment “in whole or in part,” that party shall be entitled to recover contribution from other joint tortfeasors “for the excess so paid over his pro rata share.” N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-3. Applied together, “[t]he Comparative Negligence Act and the Joint Tortfeasors Contribution Law comprise the statutory framework for the allocation of fault when multiple parties are alleged to have contributed to the plaintiff’s harm.” Town of Kearny v. Brandt, 214 N.J. 76, 96 (2013). As this Court has observed: The modified comparative negligence approach reflected by our statute provides a fairer framework for imposing liability, apportioning losses, and allowing redress. Our modified joint and several liability statute also promotes redress to plaintiffs and provides for a fair apportionment of damages as among joint defendants. When applied together, the statutes implement New Jersey’s approach to fair apportionment of damages among plaintiffs and defendants, and among joint defendants. [Erny v. Estate of Merola, 171 N.J. 86, 98- 99 (2002) (citations omitted).] The two statutes “promote ‘the distribution of loss in proportion to the respective faults of the parties causing that 21 loss.’” Town of Kearny, supra, 214 N.J. at 102 (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting Brodsky v. Grinnell Haulers, Inc., 181 N.J. 102, 114 (2004)). They ensure that damages are ordinarily apportioned to joint tortfeasors in conformity to the factfinder’s allocation of fault. Ibid.