Gerald v. San Francisco Unified School District

WOOD (Fred B.), J.

The sole question upon this appeal is the legal effect of plaintiff’s release of the defendant in another action. Did it operate to release the defendants herein despite the express reservation of certain of plaintiff’s claims against them?

Plaintiff, a student at City College of San Francisco, brought this action for damages against the district and the board of education which operate the college, and against Roy Walker as agent and employee of the district and the board.

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He alleges that he was injured when a car in which he was riding, driven by a fellow student who had fallen asleep, crashed into a certain bridge on their return from a college fraternity initiation held at Rio Nido; that the initiation proceedings required plaintiff and the driver of the car, as pledgees, to go without sleep for a period of several days; that the district and the board had knowledge of, authorized, and conducted such proceedings, and negligently permitted the fellow student to drive in an extremely exhausted, sleepy and dangerous condition, and negligently permitted plaintiff to ride in a ear operated by a person in such a condition. ■

These defendants answered, setting up several defenses. As their third defense, they allege that, in a separate action against the driver of the ear, Donald Forsyth, plaintiff for a valuable consideration released and discharged Forsyth “from any and all claims arising out of the injuries alleged in the complaint to have been received by plaintiff.”

2

[763]

The instant ease was tried solely upon the issue presented ■ by the third defense, the asserted release of a joint tort feasor; the trial, if any, of other issues, to await the determination of this plea in bar, as provided in section 597 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

The entire file in the other action (including the release and discharge of Forsyth) was put in evidence by the defendants. Plaintiff then read to the jury that portion of the complaint in the other action which alleged the serious character of plaintiff’s injuries (a severe cerebral contusion, laceration of his frontal lobes, multiple depressed compound fractures of his facial and frontal bones, great pain and mental anguish, extreme and permanent disfiguration of his face and head)