Opinion ID: 1766554
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Existence of a Settlement

Text: ¶ 14. Before the enactment of Miss.Code Ann. § 85-5-7 (1999), juries were often left in the dark as to change of heart following a settlement agreement. That is, before this section was enacted, trial judges often would allow the jury to consider only the fault of parties to the lawsuit and not settling defendants. See, e.g., McBride v. Chevron, 673 So.2d 372 (Miss.1996). However, Miss.Code Ann. § 85-5-7(7) changed the situation and determined, [i]n actions involving joint tortfeasors, the trier of fact shall determine the percentage of fault for each party alleged to be at fault. Id. This Court has interpreted this section to mean that any tortfeasor, even absent ones, that contributed to the injury must be considered by the jury when apportioning fault. Estate of Hunter v. General Motors Corp., 729 So.2d 1264 (Miss.1999). ¶ 15. In Robles ex rel. Robles v. Gollott & Sons Transfer & Storage, Inc., 697 So.2d 383 (Miss.1997), the trial court allowed defense counsel to bring out on cross-examination the fact that the plaintiff had sued the settling defendant and alleged her to have been negligent. This Court held that, in allowing the settlement to be mentioned, the trial court had followed one of the acceptable procedures used to determine damages due to a plaintiff where co-defendants are involved and one co-defendant has settled. Id. at 385. ¶ 16. The jury in the case sub judice was obligated to determine Long's percentage of fault irrespective of his status as a party at the time of trial. Logically, the jury was entitled to know that, up until the settlement, both the plaintiffs and the Hoods were claiming that John Long was at fault for the accident and brought suit against him seeking a recovery for the same. The trial judge did not err by allowing the jury to be informed of the settlement agreement.