Jury Verdict After Good Faith Settlement Reduced To Zero.

Prior to trial, plaintiff settled her case involving the loss of anticipated survivorship interests with some of the defendants, and the court found the settlement was made in good faith pursuant to Civil Code §877.  A jury awarded her $200,000 against the remaining defendants who are lawyers.  The court granted an offset as to the entire $200,000, stating:  “This court does not need to determine the exact amount of the settlement.  It is clear that its value exceeds the $200,000 judgment.”  Part of plaintiff’s argument on appeal was that an attorney cannot be a joint tortfeasor with a non-attorney under §877.  The appellate court rejected the argument, which would have resulted in a double recovery if successful, stating:  “Although both attorneys and non-attorneys are codefendants in this matter, they can still be ‘tortfeasors claimed to be liable for the same tort’” within the meaning of §877.  Oliveira v. Kiesler (Cal. App. Fourth Dist., Div. 3; June 15, 2012) 206 Cal.App.4th 1349.