Court Opinion

ID: 9694581
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 17:47:35.558384+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:20:03.644990
License: Public Domain

CAPPY, Justice,
concurring.
I concur in the result reached by the majority. I agree that the jury in this case should be apprised of the existence of the Agreement and should be instructed as to the amount of reimbursement which the original defendants will recover if the Hatfields are successful in their action against Talin. I disagree with the majority’s re-characterization of the Agreement as something other than a “Settlement Agreement” in order to admit it into evidence. Further, I strongly disagree with the majority’s conclusion that the actual dollar amount of the settlement agreement is admissible into evidence at trial. Simply stated, I would allow the Agreement into evidence for impeachment purposes as outlined below, except for that part which discloses the total dollar settlement amount.
At the outset, I wish to make clear that I concur with the majority that' it is not crucial to our determination whether the Agreement is characterized as a “Mary Carter Agreement.” 1 The only issue with which we are concerned is whether the Agreement in this case is admissible under 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 6141(c).
The language of Section 6141(c) is clear; settlement agreements are not admissible in evidence on the trial of any matter unless such settlement has been pleaded as a *565complete defense.2 The public policy behind Section 6141(c), as the majority correctly points out, is to encourage settlements. Muhammad v. Strassburger, McKenna, Messer, Shilobod & Gutnick, 526 Pa. 541, 587 A.2d 1346 (1991). This policy is an administrative one and serves the purpose of settling disputes without long and costly litigation.
There is however, another public policy at stake in this case, that being the right of a party against whom a witness is called to show that such witness has an interest in or is biased as to the outcome of the trial. This policy is a substantive one that impacts on the basic fairness of the trial.
It is well-established in this jurisdiction that a party against whom a witness is called always has the right to test the credibility of such witness. Commonwealth v. Williams, 524 Pa. 218, 570 A.2d 75 (1990); Downey v. Weston, 451 Pa. 259, 301 A.2d 635 (1973). The credibility of a witness may be tested by evidence which tends to show that the witness had an interest in the outcome of the trial, that the witness’ testimony may be untruthful or that the witness may possess a bias which colors his testimony. Commonwealth v. Butler, 601 A.2d 268 (1991); Grutski v. Kline, 352 Pa. 401, 43 A.2d 142 (1945). The potential for misleading and deceiving the jury if the credibility of a witness is not allowed to be tested is obvious.
When two public policies conflict it is the job of the judiciary to balance both policies and make a determination as to which one is paramount. This process is illustrated in Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308, 94 S.Ct. 1105, 39 L.Ed.2d 347 (1974). In Davis, the defendant sought to impeach the credibility of a crucial prosecution witness by showing that his probationary status as a juvenile delinquent might subject him to undue pressure from the police with respect to his testimony. The prosecution sought a protective order to prevent any reference to the witness’ juvenile record. The *566Supreme Court of the United States held that the Sixth Amendment right of confrontation of witnesses requires that the defendant be permitted to impeach the credibility of the prosecution witness by cross-examination directed at possible bias which resulted from the witness’ probationary status as a juvenile delinquent notwithstanding that such impeachment would conflict with the state’s interest in preserving the confidentiality of juvenile delinquents.
Just as the Supreme Court of the United States employed a balancing test to determine that the right of confrontation is paramount to the State’s policy of protecting a juvenile offender, so too must we balance the competing interests at play in this case. It is my view that the danger inherent in not allowing Talin to impeach the credibility of the original defendants by introducing the Agreement in evidence during cross-examination outweighs the administrative policy of encouraging settlements. By allowing Talin the opportunity to show that the original defendants stand to gain $50,000.00 if the Hatfields are successful in their suit against Talin, the jurors will be afforded a basis for determining whether the original defendants’ testimony is credible or biased. Such determination is necessary to ensure a fair and just trial.
Because it is the reimbursement that provides the impetus for the testimony of the original defendants to be biased and which is probative of the possible extent of the bias, I concur with the majority that “the jury is entitled to be instructed as to the financial interests which the original defendants retain in [the] plaintiffs’ success.” However, what the majority has. left unsaid, but which follows from my analysis, is that the full dollar amount of the settlement should not be introduced in evidence. The settlement amount is not relevant to the issue of the credibility of the original defendants. The original defendants will not gain or lose anything with respect to the settlement amount regardless of how they testify at the trial. Introducing the dollar settlement amount could serve to unduly influence the jury and usurp their function, which is to independently *567determine the amount of damages in the event that they find Talin liable to the Hatfields, based solely upon the facts in evidence.
For the foregoing reasons, I would reverse the opinion of the Superior Court and remand the case to the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
LARSEN and PAPADAKOS, JJ., join in this concurring opinion.

. The term "Mary Carter Agreement” was coined in a Florida Supreme Court case entitled Ward v. Ochoa, 284 So.2d at 387 (Fla.1973). A Mary Carter Agreement is a secret agreement that the defendant must remain in the action and will pay the plaintiff a certain monetary recovery regardless of the outcome of the action and will have his or her own maximum liability diminished proportionately by increasing the liability of the other co-defendants.

. In the instant case, the Agreement is not being offered into evidence as a complete defense to the action. It is being offered in evidence to impeach the credibility of the original defendants’ testimony.