Ready v. United/Goedecke Services, Inc.

In this appeal, we must answer the question: Is a defendant who settles with the plaintiff prior to trial still a “defendant sued by the plaintiff’ within the meaning of section 2 — 1117 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2 — 1117 (West 2002))? If we answer this question in the affirmative, then all defendants sued by the plaintiff, including those who settled prior to trial, may be included on the jury verdict form so that the fact finder can assign each defendant its degree of relative fault, if any. If we answer this question in the negative, then only those defendants who remain…