Lamberton v. Rhodes-Jamieson

Opinion

SMITH, J.

In this case, a joint tortfeasor adjudged least culpable by the jury decided to forego an early postjudgment settlement with the plaintiff and pursue an appeal, while the other two main codefendants settled. Two years later, the nonsettling defendant gave up the appeal, but at a price almost twice that of its original percentage share of the judgment. It then came into court seeking to recoup the difference from the other two under California’s contribution statutes. The issue here is the propriety of the trial court’s denial of the dilatory defendant’s motion for contribution.