Legal Opinion
Coats v. Penrod Drilling Corp.
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Decided August 8, 1995No. 92-07378PublishedCited by 84 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
KING and PATRICK E. HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judges:
For more than a century, general maritime law has held joint tortfeasors jointly and severally hable for all of the plaintiffs damages suffered at their hand. Under that rule, the risk of noncollection is borne by the defendants. The plaintiff can collect his entire judgment from a single defendant, leaving to the defendants allocation of fault among themselves. We reheard this case en banc to consider the contention that we should adopt a new rule of “modified joint liability.” This proposal would limit each joint tortfeasor’s maximum…
2Cases cited55 opinions
- Erie Railroad v. TompkinsSupreme Court of the United States · 1938
- Klaxon Co. v. Stentor Electric Manufacturing Co.Supreme Court of the United States · 1941
- Seas Shipping Co. v. SierackiSupreme Court of the United States · 1946
- Moragne v. States Marine Lines, Inc.Supreme Court of the United States · 1970
- Pope & Talbot, Inc. v. HawnSupreme Court of the United States · 1953
50 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by84 opinions
- Tandon v. Captain's Cove Marina of Bridgeport, Inc.Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 2014
- Walker v. U.S. Department of Housing & Urban DevelopmentCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 1996
- Francis Barker, Jr. v. Hercules Offshore, Inc., etCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 2013
- Wren Thomas v. Chevron USA, IncorporatedCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 2016
- Hufnagel v. Omega Service Industries, Inc.Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 1999
79 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.