Burden v. Copco Refrigeration, Inc.

129 P.3d 782, 204 Or. App. 378, 2006 Ore. App. LEXIS 205
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedFebruary 15, 2006
Docket0006-06290; A116663
StatusPublished

This text of 129 P.3d 782 (Burden v. Copco Refrigeration, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Burden v. Copco Refrigeration, Inc., 129 P.3d 782, 204 Or. App. 378, 2006 Ore. App. LEXIS 205 (Or. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

SCHUMAN, J.

This appeal arising from a jury verdict in favor of plaintiff is before us on remand from the Oregon Supreme Court. Burden v. Copco Refrigeration, Inc., 339 Or 388, 390, 121 P3d 1133 (2005). As originally presented to us, the case contained two assignments of error by defendant Sabb. First, he contended that the trial court should have granted his motion to dismiss because plaintiff never successfully served her complaint on him. We agreed. Burden v. Copco Refrigeration, Inc., 192 Or App 378, 385, 86 P3d 59, adh’d to as modified on recons, 193 Or App 476, 478, 89 P3d 1286 (2004), rev’d, 339 Or 388, 390, 121 P3d 1133 (2005). As a result, we did not consider Sabb’s second assignment of error, in which he asserted that the trial court erred in denying his motion for offset; that motion, if granted, would have reduced his liability to plaintiff by the amount plaintiff received from a settlement with codefendant Copco Refrigeration, Inc. (Copco). The Supreme Court subsequently reversed on the basis of the first issue and remanded to us for consideration of the second issue. Burden, 339 Or at 397. We now conclude that the offset issue that defendant raises on appeal was never raised to the trial court. We therefore affirm the trial court’s judgment.

The following facts are undisputed at this stage of the litigation. Plaintiff was the victim of two automobile collisions in 1998. The first occurred in June and was caused by Sabb. The second occurred in November and was caused by an employee of Copco. In a single complaint, plaintiff brought this action against both Sabb and Copco; one claim alleged the negligence of Sabb and a second claim alleged the negligence of Copco. For each claim, plaintiffs complaint listed identical injuries: “neck, back, chest, abdominal and right shoulder pain, headaches, concussion, hammering in her ear, left eyelid droop, [and] oozing and bleeding from prior surgical incision sites[.]” These injuries, she alleged, occurred “[a]s a result of the negligence of defendants.”

Before trial, plaintiff and Copco reached a settlement agreement releasing Copco from all liability in exchange for a payment to plaintiff in the amount of $32,500. Sabb elected to proceed to trial. He conceded liability and the parties agreed on the amount of economic damages; the sole [381]*381issue was noneconomic damages. Before the proceedings began, Sabb filed a “Motion for Offset,” arguing that, in order to prevent a double recovery, the trial court should rule that Sabb’s liability to plaintiff as ultimately determined by the jury had to be reduced by the amount plaintiff received in settlement from Copco:

“Plaintiff filed her Complaint alleging the exact same injuries as to both defendants. The matter went to a private mediation several months ago, and plaintiff reached an agreement to settle her claims against Copco Refrigeration, Inc. Plaintiff signed a general Release of All Claims * * *. At that point, defendant Copco Refrigeration, Inc., became either a settling party under ORS 18.470 et seq., or extinguished the obligation of defendant Sabb to the plaintiff for the same injury to the extent of the consideration paid, pursuant to ORS 18.455(l)(a).[1] She has failed to distinguish the claims that were made against the individual defendants before settling under a general release with one of them.”

(Emphasis in original.) Plaintiff argued against the motion on the ground that the injuries occurred in separate accidents, and that, based on the evidence to be adduced at trial, the jury should determine which injuries Sabb caused and hold him liable for those. The trial court agreed with plaintiff, noting,

“[C]ounsel are certainly allowed to argue the relationship, if any, between the first accident and the second accident and what conclusions the jury ought to draw in terms of what sort of injuries [plaintiff] sustained in those incidents, but the fact of settlement, amount of settlement should not be gone into.”

Thereafter, the parties presented evidence as to which accident caused which injuries. Plaintiffs evidence established that the first accident was by far the more serious; the collision with Sabb resulted in over $4,000 in damages to her car and caused her to miss 41 days of work, [382]*382whereas the accident with Copco’s employee resulted in a $740 bumper repair and caused a week of missed work. She also testified directly and explicitly that the personal injuries from the first accident continued to cause pain and disability after the second accident, never having abated in the interim. In closing argument, plaintiffs counsel repeatedly told the jurors that they had the task of determining which injuries derived from the first accident and which from the second. The court subsequently instructed the jurors,

“[W]ith regard to the second accident, November 9th, 1998, you heard some discussion about another defendant and claims against him. However, I would like you to focus entirely on this case. You’re to consider the claims in this case only. You should not consider or speculate about the claims against the other defendant.”

The jury subsequently found Sabb liable for noneconomic damages in the amount of $52,916.75. The parties had stipulated to $9,145 in economic damages resulting from the first accident. The court therefore entered judgment against Sabb, with interest, in the amount of $63,546.83.

Sabb assigns error to the trial court’s denial of his pretrial motion for offset. That motion, as we have pointed out, rested on ORS 18.470 and ORS 18.455(l)(a). Those statutes intertwine to produce a requirement that the trier of fact apportion fault among the parties. ORS 18.455 provides, in part:

“(1) When a covenant not to sue or not to enforce judgment is given in good faith to one of two or more persons liable in tort for the same injury to person or property * * * or claimed to be liable in tort for the same injury * * *:
“(a) It does not discharge any of the other tortfeasors from liability for the injury or wrongful death unless its terms so provide; but the claimant’s claim against all other persons specified in ORS 18.470(2) for the injury * * * is reduced by the share of the obligation of the tortfeasor who is given the covenant, as determined under ORS 18.480 and 18.485 [.]”

The last phrase requires the liability of the remaining tort-feasors to be reduced by “the share of the obligation of the tortfeasor who is given the covenant,” in this case, Copco; the [383]*383process for determining that obligation is set out in the cross-referenced provisions. ORS

Related

Burden v. Copco Refrigeration, Inc.
121 P.3d 1133 (Oregon Supreme Court, 2005)
State v. Wyatt
15 P.3d 22 (Oregon Supreme Court, 2000)
Maduff Mortgage Corp. v. Deloitte Haskins & Sells
779 P.2d 1083 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 1989)
State v. Hitz
766 P.2d 373 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1988)
Wade v. Mahler
1 P.3d 485 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2000)
Burden v. Copco Refrigeration, Inc.
86 P.3d 59 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2004)
Burden v. Copco Refrigeration, Inc.
89 P.3d 1286 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2004)
Maduff Mortgage Corp. v. Deloitte Haskins & Sells
787 P.2d 484 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1990)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
129 P.3d 782, 204 Or. App. 378, 2006 Ore. App. LEXIS 205, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/burden-v-copco-refrigeration-inc-orctapp-2006.