Court Opinion

ID: 9861461
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-25 00:04:34.110167+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:28:31.069691
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE QUINLAN, specially concurring: I agree with the disposition of this case made by the majority opinion involving both the reversal of the trial court’s dismissal of the plaintiff’s contribution count and the affirmation of the trial court’s order dismissing the plaintiff’s count for implied indemnity under this court’s previous determination in Heinrich v. Peabody International Corp. (1985), 139 Ill. App. 3d 289, 486 N.E.2d 1379. However, the majority’s ruling that the release here was broad enough to extinguish the liability of all the defendants to the injured parties, and thus, did permit a contribution action raises a number of questions that are left unanswered by the majority opinion. Among the questions that arise is whether there can be a recovery under the Contribution Act where there has been neither a judgment of anyone’s liability nor a judicial finding of the amount of any proximately caused damages. Another question is, What issues are available to a defendant in a subsequently brought lawsuit such as this, and what must a plaintiff prove to recover and how much may he recover? These are threshold questions to an action for contribution which I think should be addressed at least preliminarily, since these will be the first issues to be confronted on a trial of the plaintiff’s contribution count. The first question (which was not addressed but is subsumed in the majority decision) is, of course, Where one of two or more joint tortfeasors settles with an injured third party and obtains a release of all claims without suit or judgment having been entered, may contribution be enforced against the other wrongdoer or doers? I believe that a tortfeasor effecting a settlement without a suit or judgment can recover against his fellow joint tortfeasor under certain circumstances. Such a recovery, I submit, is consistent with the policy behind a contribution act, and is consistent with the clear language of our Act and with the decisions in other jurisdictions that have considered this question. As the commissioners’ comment to section 1(d) of the Uniform Contribution Among Tortfeasors Act indicates, “[t]he policy of the Act is to encourage rather than discourage settlements. The tortfeasor who settles removes himself entirely from the case so far as contribution is concerned if he is able and chooses to buy his peace for less than the entire liability. If he discharges the entire obligation it is only fair to give him contribution from those whose liability he has discharged.” (12 U.L.A. 62, Commissioners’ Comment at 65 (1975); see also Swartz v. Sunderland (1961), 403 Pa. 222, 225, 169 A.2d 289, 291.) The primary purpose of the Contribution Act is to create a right to contribution among joint tortfeasors and to establish a procedure to apply this right effectively in practice. The Act is intended to provide a vehicle to achieve a joint resolution of all the issues concerning the parties involved without any undue delay and thereby stimulate and permit settlements of valid claims without expensive and time-consuming litigation. (403 Pa. 222, 225, 169 A.2d 289, 291.) The evil our Contribution Act as well as others sought to remedy was the unfairness of allowing a disproportionate share of the recovery to be borne by one of several joint tortfeasors, and, thus, the goal of the Contribution Act was to accomplish a more equitable distribution of the burden among those liable in tort for the same injury. See Robertson v. McCarte (1982), 13 Mass. App. Ct. 441, 443, 433 N.E.2d 1262, 1264. The language of the Illinois act itself also authorizes contribution among joint tortfeasors where a settlement of a claim has been effectuated even though there has been no adjudication of the claim nor even an action filed. The pertinent provisions of the Act are contained in section 2 and section 5. Section 2 specifically provides: “Except as otherwise provided in this Act, where two or more persons are subject to liability in tort arising out of the same injury to person or property, or the same wrongful death, there is a right of contribution among them, even though judgment has not been entered against any or all of them.” However, it goes on and limits this right stating that, “[t]he right of contribution exists only in favor of a tortfeasor who has paid more than his pro rata share of the common liability, and his total recovery is limited to the amount paid by him in excess of his pro rata share.” And further that “[a] tortfeasor who settles with a claimant *** is not entitled to recover contribution from another tortfeasor whose liability is not extinguished by the settlement.” (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 70, par. 302.) Finally, section 5 provides for the enforcement of this right: “A cause of action for contribution among joint tortfeasors may be asserted by a separate action before or after payment, by counterclaim or by third-party complaint in a pending action.” Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 70, par. 305. Thus, it appears clear from a fair reading of these sections that the entry of judgment is not the exclusive basis of the right to seek contribution. Section 2 expressly states that a right of contribution exists “even though judgment has not been entered against any or all of them.” This language surely indicates a legislative intent that the entry of a judgment is not essential to maintain an action for contribution. Furthermore, the other sections do not limit the right of contribution to a judgment or permit enforcement only after entry of a judgment. This interpretation of the right of contribution is also consistent with the interpretation of other State courts which have considered this question. (See, e.g., W. D. Rubright Co. v. International Harvester Co. (W.D. Pa. 1973), 358 F. Supp. 1388; Swartz v. Sunderland (1961), 403 Pa. 222, 169 A.2d 289; see also American Motorcycle Association v. Superior Court (1978), 20 Cal. 3d 578, 578 P.2d 899, 146 Cal. Rptr. 182.) Any other result would do substantial prejudice to those who wish to resolve litigation matters of this nature as quickly and as fairly as possible, and would, I suggest, be directly contrary to the very policy of the Contribution Act to encourage amicable resolutions of claims. Additionally, a further reading of the Act itself establishes basically only two conditions that must exist before the right of contribution arises in the case of a settlement, i.e., (1) that the liability of the other joint tortfeasors has been extinguished by the settlement (see Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 70, par. 302(e)), and (2) that the tortfeasor seeking contribution has paid more than his pro rata share of common liability (see Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 70, par. 302(b).) Nor, as other State courts have observed, will the mere fact that judgment has not been entered in favor of the injured party be prejudicial to the joint tortfeasors who are called upon to meet their equitable responsibilities of contribution. They will still be entitled to their day in court where there will be an opportunity to defend against the issue of liability and the reasonableness of the amount paid in settling the asserted claim. See Swartz v. Sunderland (1961), 403 Pa. 222, 226, 169 A.2d 289, 291; W. D. Rubright Co. v. International Harvester Co. (W.D. Pa. 1973), 358 F. Supp. 1388, 1392. Accordingly, to recover the plaintiff here will be required to establish several things. He must establish that he entered into a good faith settlement of the claim, he has paid the settlement, and that he has exceeded his pro rata share of the common liability. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 70, pars. 302(a), (b).) In other words, the plaintiff must demonstrate the reasonableness of the amount of his settlement (see W D. Rubright Co. v. International Harvester Co. (W.D. Pa. 1973), 358 F. Supp. 1388, 1392; Robertson v. McCarte (1982), 13 Mass. App. Ct. 441, 443, 433 N.E.2d 1262, 1264; Swartz v. Sunderland (1961), 403 Pa. 222, 226, 169 A.2d 289, 291), that it was made in reasonable anticipation of liability, and thus, by paying this amount, he paid more than his share of the liability. (See proposed Illinois Pattern Jury Instruction, Civil, No. 600.09 — 16 (2d ed. Supp. 1985); St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co. v. Michelin Tire Corp. (1973), 12 Ill. App. 3d 165, 298 N.E.2d 289.) This determination, I believe, is at least initially and ordinarily a matter for the court to decide based on the facts and circumstances surrounding the settlement. (See Lowe v. Norfolk & Western Ry. Co. (1984), 124 Ill. App. 3d 80, 463 N.E.2d 792.) Once these factors have been established, the settlement will then set the amount of liability to be apportioned among the joint tortfeasors. See W.D. Rubright Co. v. International Harvester Co. (W.D. Pa. 1973), 358 F. Supp. 1388,1392-96. Next, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendants are subject to liability in tort arising out of the same injury to the person or his property as was the plaintiff here, and the relative degree of culpability of each, i.e., the percent their conduct proximately caused the claimant’s injuries or damages. (See IPI Civil 2d No. 600.09 et seq. (1985 Supp.).) At that point, I believe, if the defendant does not have an affirmative defense, a plaintiff is entitled to a judgment against each defendant apportioning the settlement according to each tortfeasor’s percentage of responsibility. While I acknowledge that these questions or issues are not explicitly raised by the case as decided by the majority, I nevertheless feel that a full and proper resolution of the case presented does necessitate the answers to the above questions. Also, while the resolution of the questions I have proposed is solely my view of their resolution and application, I also believe it is consistent with the continuing policy of the Contribution Act in Hlinois and is consistent with the authorities that have considered similar questions in other jurisdictions.