Goodman

This appeal requires us to deal with two issues that arise out of sections 877 and 1032 of the Code of Civil Procedure. [1] Section 877 reduces a litigant's "claims" against remaining "tortfeasors claimed to be liable for the same tort" or against "one or more other co-obligors mutually subject to contribution rights," by the amount of prior settlements from those tortfeasors, or co-obligors (as the case may be). Section 1032 sets out four categories of litigants who are entitled to "prevailing party" status, including "the party with a net monetary recovery." In situations other than those four categories, the trial court has discretion to determine the prevailing party.

The first issue implicates only section 877: In a two-person partnership devoted to building residential property where, in a construction defect case, the "construction partner" pays $200,000 to the plaintiff to be dismissed, the case goes to trial against "money partner," and the court awards less than $200,000 against the money partner, should the $200,000 paid by the construction partner be used to offset the award against the money partner—resulting, in effect, in a net zero judgment? The answer…