Smith v. Zufelt Ex Rel. Zufelt

In this case we are called upon to decide the appropriate amount of settlement proceeds, if any, that should be offset from a jury award when a plaintiff has both settled with a nonparty and successfully litigated claims for the same injury against nonset-tiling defendants. After a jury verdict for plaintiff, the trial court reduced the jury award by deducting an amount based on the fault attributed to the settling nonparty, which amount was less than the total settlement paid by the nonparty. The court of appeals reversed, holding that because settlement proceeds are payments from a…