Roslan

Permea, Inc., and its subsidiary, Zeks Air Dryer Corporation (collectively Zeks) appeal after a jury awarded plaintiff Anthony J. Roslan approximately $563,000 in his action for personal injuries. One third of the award was for noneconomic damages. The primary problem with this case is that the trial court did not allow the jury to assess the comparative fault of two defendants which settled before trial, and also refused to allow Zeks to present evidence of the culpability of one of those settling defendants. The jury was therefore unable to assess the settling defendants’ comparative fault. Such a determination was crucial because, under Proposition 51 (Civ. Code, § 1431.2), Zeks is only severally liable for any noneconomic damages. Without knowing the settling defendants’ proportionate fault, we have no way of determining how much of the noneconomic award that Zeks must pay. Accordingly, we reverse.

Facts

Discussion

I*

II

Defendant Allied Container (Allied), which designed and manufactured the shipping carton which allegedly caused Roslan’s injuries, settled before trial for $15,000, and another defendant (Benz Engineering) settled for $10,000. The trial court…