Torres

This case calls upon us to define the term “good faith” as it is used in Code of Civil Procedure sections 877 and 877.6. Specifically, we must decide whether a settlement is in “good faith” when it is “too cheap,” i.e., when it allows the settling codefendant to escape from the litigation without paying his fair share of the damages. We find that the standard of “good faith” is not met when a codefendant’s settlement price is grossly disproportionate to his fair share of the damages. However, we find that the settlements at issue here involve no such gross disproportion and were therefore made in good faith. We, therefore, affirm dismissals made by the trial court, pursuant to its finding of good faith.

Facts

On May 24, 1976, Pablo Torres (Torres), an employee of Union Pacific Railroad Company (Union), was about to leave work for the day when he discovered that his car had a flat tire. Needing a jack to enable him to change this tire, Torres borrowed a Jack-all-Jack from Union and started to work on his car, which was parked on Union premises. While so working, Torres tripped the reversing mechanism on the jack, and the jack handle jerked violently from the horizontal…