In this column we examine two Appellate Division decisions in a single case—Caruso v. Northeast Emergency Medical Associates, P.C., 85 A.D.3d 1502 (3d Dept. 2011), and 54 A.D.3d 524 (3d Dept. 2008)—which addresses the issues related to a general release and an assignment of a claim for indemnification. Our last column addressed discontinuing against individual defendants while continuing to pursue claims against hospitals based on their vicarious liability for those defendants.1 The case addressed herein essentially involves the flip-side of that situation—a plaintiff settling against a hospital and taking, as part of the settlement, an assignment of its rights against the entity for which it was vicariously liable.
Before we discuss Caruso, it bears repeating that the rights of a vicariously liable party against the negligent person for whom it is held so liable sound in indemnification. See Riviello v. Waldron, 47 N.Y.2d 297 (1979). Therefore, the vicariously liable party may recoup its losses from the negligent actor for whom it was held liable by bringing an action for indemnification.
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