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Suggs v. Hale

Where there is a settlement containing no admission of liability, a party seeking contribution from the other party to the settlement must prove joint negligence.

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Ronald Suggs appeals the trial court’s denial of his motion for summary judgment on Steven Hale’s personal injury claim and his own counterclaim for contribution. We granted Suggs’ application for interlocutory appeal and, for reasons that follow, we affirm in part and reverse in part. We conduct a de novo review of the evidence in an appeal from a ruling on summary judgment.1 A party is entitled to summary judgment only when no genuine issue of material fact exists and judgment as a matter of law is warranted.2 In this case, the material facts are not in dispute. Suggs and Hale were involved in a vehicle collision on December 31, 2001, in which William Marchant, Jr., a passenger in Hale’s vehicle, was killed. Suggs and Hale were both defendants in a wrongful death action on behalf of Marchant’s heirs, which was settled and dismissed with prejudice. In that action, Suggs and Hale each alleged that the other was responsible for Marchant’s death; nonetheless, both contributed to the settlement.3

Hale brought a separate action against Suggs to recover for injuries he sustained in the collision, and Suggs counterclaimed for contribution on the wrongful death settlement. Suggs then moved for summary judgment on both Hale’s claim and his counterclaim, alleging that: 1 Hale’s claim is barred by the doctrine of res judicata; and 2 he is entitled to contribution from Hale for the settlement payment as a matter of law because they were joint tortfeasors.

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