Court Opinion

ID: 9705568
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 01:11:56.213235+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:12.491059
License: Public Domain

*675GLASSMAN, Justice,
dissenting.
I must respectfully dissent. Contrary to the determination of the trial court and of this Court, the trial court was without authority either by common law rule or by statute to reduce the amount of the damages awarded in the “trial within a trial” by the amount received by Eileen from Thurlow.
The following review of the pertinent common law and statutes discloses that the issue in the present case was foreclosed by the governing common law rules and has only been made possible of presentation by reason of statutory enactments by the Legislature. Prior to the enactment of 14 M.R.S.A. § 156 by P.L.1965, ch. 424, Maine was bound by the common law rule that in an action based on negligence, any negligence, however slight, on the part of a plaintiff that proximately contributed to his alleged injuries was an absolute bar to any recovery of damages from the defendant. Crocker v. Coombs, 328 A.2d 389, 391 (Me.1974). The common law rule also mandated that the release of one of several tortfeasors releases the others. Wells v. Gould and Howard, 131 Me. 192, 194, 160 A. 30 (1932). This was time though the wrongdoers were severally, rather than jointly, liable for the injury. Cleveland v. City of Bangor, 87 Me. 259, 264-65, 32 A. 892 (1895). The language of 14 M.R.S.A. § 163, enacted by P.L.1969, ch. 19, clearly expressed the intent of the Legislature to modify this common law rule. As stated in Emery Waterhouse Co. v. Lea, 467 A.2d 986 (Me.1983):
The overall scheme and purpose of this section is undoubtedly to promote settlements in multiple-party tort cases by depriving such settlements or releases of one tortfeasor of them common-law characteristic of absolutely discharging all other joint and several tortfeasors, permitting a subsequent action against the other parties causing the injury to be tried without the evidence of the settlement or release being disclosed to the trier of facts, and, after favorable verdict in favor of the injured party-releasor, having that verdict against the other tortfeasor reduced by an amount equal to the consideration received in the prior settlement or release.
Id. at 995, 996.
In Eileen’s present action at law seeking damages from Richard Hall for his negligent representation of her, it was necessary, pursuant to the procedure heretofore established, that even “[ajssuming negligent representation, a plaintiff must prove nevertheless that he could have been successful in the initial suit ‘absent the attorney’s negligent omission to act.’ ” Schneider v. Richardson, 411 A.2d 656, 658 (Me.1979) (quoting Sohn v. Bernstein, 279 A.2d 529, 532 (Me.1971)). The issues presented to the jury in this “trial within a trial” were in conformity with the provisions of 14 M.R.S.A. § 156 (1980) and were restricted solely to the conduct of the State by its agent and that of John Hoitt. This resulted in a determination by the jury that the State’s negligent conduct proximately causing the death of John was greater than John’s contributory negligent conduct and in fixing the State’s liability for damages at $50,000. By this verdict, Eileen established that Hall’s monetary obligation to her by reason of his negligence was $50,000.
The Court properly adopts the determination of the trial court that, because Eileen’s action against Thomas Thurlow was an independent tort from the tort forming the basis of her cause of action against Hall, 14 M.R.S.A. § 163 has no application to this case. Nothing in the statutes or in the case law of this State allows the court to reduce the amount for which Hall is liable by reason of the independent tort of his negligent representation of Eileen by the amount Eileen recovered from Thurlow.1 Any monies received by Eileen from Thomas Thurlow based on a tort independent of the tort in the present action was an independent source of compensation to Eileen. The applicable law governing the instant ease was clearly stated by the Court in Potvin v. Seven Elms, Inc., 628 A.2d 115 (Me.1993):
We have previously held that under the collateral source rule, a plaintiff who has *676been compensated in whole or in part for his damages by a source independent of the tortfeasor is nevertheless entitled to a full recovery against the tortfeasor. Werner v. Lane, 393 A.2d 1329, 1335 (Me.1978). The premise underlying this rule is that either the injured party or the tortfeasor will receive a windfall if part of a loss is paid by an independent source, and, as between the injured party and the tortfea-sor, the injured party should reap the benefit of the windfall. Id. at 1335-36.
Id. at 116.
Here, the full recovery against the tortfea-sor was $50,000. By its decision, the Court has erroneously allowed Hall, the tortfeasor in this case, to “reap the benefit” of the amount recovered by Eileen from a source independent of that tortfeasor. I would vacate the judgment and remand this case to the Superior Court for an entry of a judgment in the amount of $50,000 in favor of Eileen.

. Moores v. Greenberg, 834 F.2d 1105 (1st Cir.1987); O’Neil v. Vasseur, 118 Idaho 257, 796 P.2d 134, 139-40 (Ct.App.1990); and Kay v. Bricker, 485 So.2d 486, 487 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1986), cited by the Court clearly are not applicable to the facts of the present case.