Jaramillo v. State of California

Opinion

PUGLIA, P. J. —

The defendant State of California (State) has filed a motion to dismiss the appeal of plaintiff Frank Jaramillo. For the reasons which follow, we conclude the motion must be granted.

[970]

The history of this action can be summarized briefly. While operating his motorcycle on a highway controlled by the State, plaintiff collided with an automobile driven by Carter B. Jones and sustained personal injuries. On May 23, 1972, plaintiff filed his complaint for damages for personal injuries against the State, Jones and McKeon Construction Company, the owner of the car driven by Jones.

Prior to trial, plaintiff settled his claims against Jones and McKeon for $350,000 and they were dismissed from the case. He then proceeded to trial against the State on the theory that it had negligently maintained the roadway where the accident took place.

In special findings, the jury found the total amount of plaintiff’s damages was $500,000; that plaintiff’s negligence was responsible for 33.3 percent of the damage; that 66.7 percent of the damage was attributable to the negligence of the State and Jones. In its verdict, the jury found for plaintiff and against State, and after deducting 33.3 percent of the damages from the total thereof, assessed damages of $333,500 against the State. From this award the trial court set off $350,000, the amount of the settlement with Jones and McKeon, as required by Code of Civil Procedure section 877. As a result of the reduction of the judgment, plaintiff recovered nothing from the State.

On appeal, plaintiff contends that under the principles set forth by the California Supreme Court in

Li

v.

Yellow Cab Co.

(1975) 13 Cal.3d 804 [119 Cal.Rptr. 858, 532 P.2d 1226, 78 A.L.R.3d 393], he is entitled to judgment against the State for the proportion of his total damages which bears the same relationship thereto as the State’s proportion of fault bears to the whole, regardless of plaintiff’s previous settlements with other tortfeasors. Plaintiff also argues the corollary proposition that judgments against defendants in multiple party litigation must “be reduced by the proportion of liability attributable to settled co-tortfeasors rather than by the amount of consideration given for the settlement.”