Shiflet v. Eller

This is the appeal of two negligence cases. In each case a joint tort-feasor had been released by the plaintiffs. Subsequently, the trial court refused to apply the 1979 covenant-not-to-sue statute and ruled that the other joint wrongdoer also had been released. The sole question is whether the statute affects substantive rights of joint tort-feasors or merely impacts procedural aspects of their remedy.

In October of 1977, a motor vehicle operated by appellant Mary W. Shiflet, in which appellant Harvey H. Shiflet, III was a passenger, was in a collision with two other motor vehicles in the…