EXPRESSIONS AT RANCHO NIGUEL ASS'N v. Ahmanson Developments, Inc.

Gordon & Rees, William J. Peters; William A. Robles Law Offices, Robles & Castles and William Anthony Robles, San Francisco, for Cross-Defendant and Appellant.

Grady & Dicks and Michael D. Dicks, San Diego, for Plaintiff and Respondent Expressions at Rancho Niguel Association.

Green & Adams, Philip W. Green and Gary D. Grant, Irvine, for Defendant, Cross-complainant and Respondent Ahmanson Developments, Inc.

McINTYRE, J.

Where a defendant who is strictly liable for a plaintiffs injury settles with the plaintiff and with various other joint tortfeasors and then pursues an equitable indemnity claim against a nonsettling joint tortfeasor, is the nonsettlor jointly and severally liable for the amount paid by the defendant to the plaintiff? In this case we answer this question in the negative, based on the conclusion that joint and several liability principles do not apply in apportioning losses from an indivisible injury among joint tortfeasors, and reverse the judgment of the trial court.

Expressions at Rancho Niguel Association (the Association), the homeowners association for a 266-unit residential project in Laguna Niguel, filed a construction defect action against the owner…