Opinion ID: 889333
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Reduction in Damages

Text: ¶6 Prior to trial, Appellants settled with Anderson’s for $2 million. The case against Lennox was tried to a jury on the theories of negligence and strict products liability. On April 2, 2009, the jury returned a damage verdict against Lennox under both theories of liability in the total amount of $7,490,000. Although the special verdict form required the jury to allocate a specific award to each appellant, the form did not require the jury to specify how much of the total verdict was attributable to strict liability and how much was attributable to negligence. The form instructed the jury to apportion liability for negligence between Lennox and Anderson’s, and it found Lennox 70% negligent and Anderson’s 30% negligent. ¶7 After the jury rendered its verdict but before the District Court entered judgment, Lennox filed a motion of “entry of appropriate judgment with offset required by MCA Section 27-1-703,” which governs apportioning liability when multiple tortfeasors are involved. Lennox argued that under § 27-1-703(6)(d), MCA, Appellants had assumed the liability of Anderson’s. Thus, the amount of damages should be reduced by 30%—the percentage of liability the jury had attributed to Anderson’s. Appellants argued that § 27-1- 703, MCA, did not apply because they had brought a strict products liability claim, and § 27- 1-703, MCA, applies exclusively to negligence actions. The District Court entered judgment on April 27, 2009, for $5,243,000. This amount reflected a 30% reduction in the amount awarded by the jury. ¶8 Appellants filed a motion to amend the judgment pursuant to M. R. Civ. P. 59(g), arguing that the District Court had erred when it reduced the judgment under § 27-1-703, 4 MCA, because the damages had been awarded under a strict products liability theory. Appellants also argued that a pro tanto reduction would be inappropriate because the pro tanto rule is premised on an interpretation of § 27-1-703(2), MCA. ¶9 The District Court denied Appellants’ motion to amend, concluding: [T]he Court did not bring this action, nor did the Court form the Plaintiffs’ legal theories of the case. The Court submitted the facts and Jury Instructions to the Jury in this case and the Jury returned its Special Verdict Form allocating 30% liability to Anderson’s Heating and Air Conditioning and allocating 70% liability to Lennox Industries, Inc. Consequently, the Court reduced the Jury’s assigned amounts of damages for each Plaintiff by the 30% which has already been settled and paid by Anderson’s to the Plaintiffs, in conformance with the Jury’s Special Verdict Form. ¶10 On appeal, Appellants reiterate their arguments that because the action was brought under a strict products liability theory, (1) the District Court incorrectly applied § 27-1-703, MCA; and, (2) a pro tanto reduction in the award is inapplicable. Lennox contends that the District Court correctly applied § 27-1-703, MCA, because the jury awarded damages under a negligence theory, even if only partially. Alternatively, Lennox asserts that a pro tanto reduction in the award is appropriate.