Defendants Howard Gilman and Erica Gilman’s (collectively, “Gilmans”) Motion to Contest the Good Faith Settlement application of defendants David Riener and Valerie Riener (collectively, “Rieners”) vis-à-vis plaintiff Fares Khoury (“Plaintiff”) is DENIED.
There is no precise yardstick for measuring the “good faith” of a settlement with one of several tortfeasors. But a court must harmonize the public policy favoring settlements with the competing public policy favoring equitable sharing of costs among tortfeasors. To accomplish this, a settlement must be within the “reasonable range” (i.e., within the “ballpark”) of the settling tortfeasor’s share of liability for the plaintiff’s injuries. (Tech-Bilt, Inc. v. Woodward-Clyde & Assoc. (1985) 38 Cal.3d 488, 499.) The factors to determine good faith, include: (1) a rough approximation of plaintiffs’ total recovery and the settlor’s proportionate liability; (2) the amount paid in settlement; (3) the allocation of settlement proceeds among p
Hearing Date
November 30, 2020
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Defendants Howard Gilman and Erica Gilman’s (collectively, “Gilmans”) Motion to Contest the Good Faith Settlement application of defendants David Riener and Valerie Riener (collectively, “Rieners”) vis-à-vis plaintiff Fares Khoury (“Plaintiff”) is DENIED.
There is no precise yardstick for measuring the “good faith” of a settlement with one of several tortfeasors. But a court must harmonize the public policy favoring settlements with the competing public policy favoring equitable sharing of costs among tortfeasors. To accomplish this, a settlement must be within the “reasonable range” (i.e., within the “ballpark”) of the settling tortfeasor’s share of liability for the plaintiff’s injuries. (Tech-Bilt, Inc. v. Woodward-Clyde & Assoc. (1985) 38 Cal.3d 488, 499.) The factors to determine good faith, include: (1) a rough approximation of plaintiffs’ total recovery and the settlor’s proportionate liability; (2) the amount paid in settlement; (3) the allocation of settlement proceeds among p