Opinion ID: 1856796
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: whether the trial court erred in denying appellant's motion in limine prohibiting appellee from mentioning appellant's pretrial settlement with former defendant, goodyear tire & rubber, inc., and further, denying appellant's motion for mistrial based upon appellee's references of the pretrial settlement in front of the jury?

Text: Prior to the start of trial, Roberts submitted a motion in limine to prohibit any reference to the settlement agreement between Roberts and Goodyear. Roberts asked the trial court to merely deduct the amount of the settlement with Goodyear from the jury verdict at the end of the case. Roberts contends that disclosing that she had settled with one of the defendants without disclosing the amount would allow the jury to wonder and speculate regarding the settlement amount and further wonder if Roberts was attempting to receive a windfall from the litigation. The trial court allowed defense counsel to mention the settlement between Roberts and Goodyear to the jury. Defense counsel drew attention to the settlement several times during the trial. The Mississippi Supreme Court has announced two acceptable procedures to be used to determine the damages due a plaintiff where co-defendants are involved and one co-defendant has settled with the plaintiff. The preferable method allows the parties to stipulate, outside of the presence of the jury, that a settlement has been made by one or more of the defendants and the amount of the settlement. Garcia v. Coast Electric Power Association, 493 So.2d 380, 385 (Miss. 1986). The jury would not be informed of the settlement or the payment, and, if a verdict were returned for the plaintiff, the trial judge would reduce the amount awarded by the jury by the amount of the settlement by the other defendant or defendants. Id. The second accepted procedure allows the jury to be informed of the existence of a settlement but not the amount of settlement (if settlement occurs after trial begins then it will be necessary to inform the jury why the defendants are no longer present). Whittley v. City of Meridian, 530 So.2d 1341, 1346 (Miss. 1988). If the jury returns a judgment in excess of the settlement the judge can simply adjust the judgment by the amount of the settlement. Id. Pursuant to Mississippi case law, the trial judge followed an acceptable procedure and therefore did not err in denying Roberts' motion in limine.