Court Opinion

ID: 9655731
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 19:20:12.576723+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:13:21.423799
License: Public Domain

Bronson, J.
(concurring). I agree that under the law as it currently exists affirmance is required in this case. I further believe, however, that Michigan should adopt a system of comparative negligence among joint tortfeasors.
*12The Michigan Legislature has decreed that each joint tortfeasor’s pro rata share of liability is to be determihed without regard to each individual’s negligence. MCL 600.2925b(a); MSA 27A.2925(2)(a). However, the adoption of comparative negligence among joint tortfeasors could be effected by decision of the Michigan Supreme Court. Compare, Placek v Sterling Heights, 405 Mich 638; 275 NW2d 511 (1979).
Some panels of this Court have spoken disparagingly about the institution of comparative negligence among joint tortfeasors. See Weeks v Feltner, 99 Mich App 392, 395; 297 NW2d 678 (1980); Friend v Campbell, 102 Mich App 278, 284; 301 NW2d 503 (1980), lv den 412 Mich 864 (1981). The underlying premise of these decisions is that the doctrine of comparative negligence among joint tortfeasors and the doctrine of joint and several liability are mutually exclusive. In my opinion, this is a fallacious premise. The fact that it might be possible to assign a percentage figure to the relative degree of fault of each of two or more joint tortfeasors does not require the Court to abolish joint and several liability among these tortfeasors. Suppose, for instance, that plaintiff wins a judgment against tortfeasors A, B, and C, and the jury assesses total damages of $200,000, finding plaintiff 50% negligent. Further suppose the jury finds A 25% responsible, for the mishap, B 15% liable, and C 10% liable. In my opinion, plaintiff would have the right to collect the entire $100,000 from tortfeasor A, B, or C. If this entire amount was collected from B, B would have a cause of action against A for $50,000 and against C for $20,000. In other words, plaintiff’s ability to collect the entire judgment from any one of the tortfeasors would not be impaired. Instead, allow*13ing for comparative negligence among joint tortfeasors would simply provide for greater equity vis-á-vis the negligent parties.
The two rules which I advocate here, retention of joint and several liability, and the contribution shares of each tortfeasor to be established by degree of fault have already been adopted by some states utilizing comparative neglience systems. See American Motorcycle Ass’n v Superior Court of Los Angeles County, 20 Cal 3d 578; 146 Cal Rptr 182; 578 P2d 899 (1978); Seattle First National Bank v Shoreline Concrete Co, 91 Wash 2d 230; 588 P2d 1308 (1978). See, also, Fleming, Report to the Joint Committee of the California Legislature on Tort Liability on the Problems Associated With American Motorcycle Association v Superior Court, 30 Hastings L J 1465, 1482-1487 (1979). One panel of this Court in Johnston v Billot, 109 Mich App 578, 584-587; 311 NW2d 808 (1981), while neither approving nor disapproving of the doctrine of comparative negligence among tortfeasors, did show that the adoption of this doctrine does not require the abandonment of joint and several liability.
Another panel of this Court, in Edwards v Joblinski, 108 Mich App 371, 377; 310 NW2d 385 (1981), suggested that there existed a "seeming inconsistency” between the adoption of the doctrine of comparative negligence and joint and several liability among tortfeasors where a negligent plaintiff and an insolvent tortfeasor are involved. I agree that the unmodified retention of joint and several liability would result in a windfall for the negligent plaintiff and would be unfair to the remaining solvent tortfeasors by allowing the plaintiff to escape some of the consequences of his own negligence. However, the Joblinski Court *14noted with approval that portion of Justice Clark’s dissent in American Motorcycle Ass’n, supra, which would distribute the risk of a tortfeasor’s insolvency among the negligent plaintiff and the remaining tortfeasors in proportion to their degree of fault. See, also, Fleming, supra, 1484. Thus, in the example I set forth earlier with a 50% negligent plaintiff and tortfeasors with negligence assessed at 25%, 15%, and 10%, the following calculations would be made if, , for example, B, the 15% tortfeasor whose share of damages was set at $30,000, should be insolvent. First, plaintiff’s degree of fault as a ratio to the degree of fault of the solvent tortfeasors would have to be determined. Here, the ratio between plaintiff and A is 2 to 1, and as between plaintiff and C, 5 to 1. Second, each ratio would have to be reduced to a divisor. This simply requires adding the two numbers making up the ratio. Thus, as between plaintiff and A, the divisor would be 3; as between plaintiff and G, the divisor would be 6. Third, the percentage of fault assigned to the insolvent tortfeasor (here 15) would constitute the dividend which is divided by the applicable divisor. Here, the quotients of these computations would be 5 as between plaintiff and A and 2.5 as between plaintiff and C. Fourth, the quotients derived would be added to the degree of fault assessed for the solvent tortfeasors. Sometimes this quotient will first have to be adjusted.1 *15Here, then, A would be responsible for 30% of total damages and C would be responsible for 12.5%. Thus, plaintiff could collect $85,000 from either A or C, and if plaintiff, for instance, collected a greater percentage of the judgment from C than he is responsible fór, C could sue A to recover the amount of the overpayment. Any amounts which B might be able to make would be divided by proportion of negligence between the plaintiff and the remaining tortfeasors.
I concur in affirmance. I hope, however, that my separate concurring opinion gives the Legislature, the Supreme Court, and the bar a sound basis for debating and developing a truly comparative negligence system._

 For instance, suppose one insolvent tortfeasor, and a ratio of plaintiffs negligence to the remaining tortfeasor of 7 to 3. In this case 10 would be the divisor, and the quotient derived by dividing 10 mto. the degree of negligence assigned to the insolvent tortféásor woulcl have to be multiplied by 3 before addition of the excess'liability to ihe solvent tortfeasor’s actual percentage of negligence. Using actual figures, suppose plaintiff (P) was 49% negligent, while A was 21% and B was 30% negligent. B is insolvent. The ratio of negligence between P and A is 7 to 3. Ten is the divisor. Thirty is the dividend. The quotient of the division process would be 3. This quotient would have to be adjusted to accurately reflect the ratio of A’s negligence by *15multiplying by 3 (the 3 in the ratio of 7 to 3). This in turn would result in a figure of 9 which would be added to A’s 21% of liability for the accident. Thus, plaintiff could collect 30% of his total damages from A.