May 31, 2018
In Lepore v. A.O. Smith Corp., By way of a Motion to Reconsider, the Rhode Island Superior Court (Gibney, P.J.) addressed Defendants’ Request to Compel the discovery of settlement releases executed between the Plaintiff and certain co-defendants. The first Motion to Reconsider requested settlement releases which contained Rhode Island’s joint tortfeasor language while the second Motion requested settlement releases that did not contain the language.
The Defendants’ Motion to Reconsider argued in part, that the settlement releases at issue with Rhode Island’s standard joint tortfeasor language should be produced with unredacted settlement amounts for the purposes of evaluating any setoffs. Rhode Island’s Uniform Contribution Among Joint Tortfeasors Act states that “[t]he right of contribution exists among joint tortfeasors; provided however, that when there is a disproportion of fault among joint tortfeasors, the relative degree of fault . . . shall be considered in determining their pro rata shares.” G.L. 1956 § 10-6-3. Put simply, the Defendants are seeking these releases, and believe they are entitled to this information because there is a possibility that the releases will absolve them of liability in the pending case.
The Rhode Island court has previously addressed the issue of discoverability of settlement releases and joint tortfeasor language in Alessio v. Capaldi, No. PC-06-5850, 2007 WL 3236725 (R.I. Super. Oct. 16, 2007) (Gibney, P.J.). In both cases, the Court concluded that the joint tortfeasor language included in a settlement agreement is irrelevant to a determination of liability. Although the Court agreed the settlement releases would be relevant to calculating the defendants’ entitlement to any setoff, the Court opined that “immediate disclosure of the settlement agreement is not required.” A defendant’s liability for contribution is dependent upon whether their shares of any damages awarded are paid, but those determinations cannot be made until after a final judgment. The decision also points out that under Rule 408 of the Rhode Island Rules of Evidence, settlement agreements are not admissible for the purposes of liability proof or potential setoffs.
Secondarily, the Court ruled on the defendants’ Motion to Compel certain other settlement releases the Plaintiff executed with other co-defendants, all of which did not contain Rhode Island’s joint tortfeasor language. Using the same reasoning above, the Court ruled that because settlement releases are irrelevant in determining a tortfeasor’ s liability pre-trial, the omission of the language was unpersuasive with no current case law suggesting the language omission effectively releasing the defendants of liability to the plaintiff.
Defendants should keep this in mind when making discovery requests in Rhode Island. Knowing that these agreements, with or without the joint tortfeasor language, will not effect their liability to the plaintiff, as this information will likely only be received post judgment.