McDermott, Inc. v. AmClyde & River Don Castings, Ltd.

After a construction accident in the Gulf of Mexico, the plaintiff settled with three defendants for $ 1 million. A fourth defendant, the respondent, did not settle. At trial, a jury awarded the petitioner $ 2.1 million and allocated 32% of the damages to respondent AmClyde and 38% to respondent River Don Castings, Ltd. The question presented is whether the liability of the nonsettling defendants should be calculated with reference to the jury's allocation of proportionate responsibility, or by giving the nonsettling defendants a credit for the dollar amount of the settlement.

The nonsettling defendants' liability should be calculated with reference to the jury's allocation of proportionate responsibility, not by giving them a credit for the dollar amount of the settlement

Multiple Defendants: Joint | Several | and Vicarious Liability | Joint and Several Liability