(Download) "First Title Company Waco and Alamo Title Insurance Texas v. Charles Garrett and Dorinda Garrett" by Supreme Court Of Utah # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: First Title Company Waco and Alamo Title Insurance Texas v. Charles Garrett and Dorinda Garrett
- Author : Supreme Court Of Utah
- Release Date : January 09, 1993
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 84 KB
Description
In this cause we consider the circumstances in which a non-settling defendant, faced with an adverse judgment, may claim a credit for amounts received by the plaintiff in settlement of a separate lawsuit. Applying the "one satisfaction" rule, this court has held that a non-settling defendant may reduce its liability by the amount of a settlement entered into by a settling defendant in the same lawsuit. Stewart Title Guaranty Co. v. Sterling, 822 S.W.2d 1, 8 (Tex. 1991). Here, the court of appeals affirmed a trial court judgment which (1) found two title companies liable under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices -- Consumer Protection Act ("DTPA"), TEX. BUS. & COM. CODE ?? 17.41-.63, and (2) disallowed a settlement credit because these non-settling defendants had not supplied any evidence that the settling parties in a separate lawsuit were joint tortfeasors. 802 S.W.2d 254, 263. We agree that the defendants were properly found liable under the DTPA. However, we also conclude that the record establishes, as a matter of law, that the settlement payments compensated a common indivisible injury. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the court of appeals and remand this cause to the trial court for proceedings consistent with this opinion.