Dominguez v. Fixrammer Corp.

172 Misc. 2d 868, 656 N.Y.S.2d 111, 1997 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 92
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 11, 1997
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 172 Misc. 2d 868 (Dominguez v. Fixrammer Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dominguez v. Fixrammer Corp., 172 Misc. 2d 868, 656 N.Y.S.2d 111, 1997 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 92 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1997).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Lucindo Suarez, J.

Motion by plaintiff Hippolito Dominguez to restructure the verdict.

Plaintiff commenced this action to recover for injuries sustained while operating a power stud gun in the course of installing a wall for his employer. Creative Structures, Inc., where a ricocheting stud caused plaintiff to lose a testicle. The gun, purchased by plaintiff for his employer nine years earlier, was manufactured by Fixrammer Corporation and distributed and sold to plaintiff by Barnett Lighting Corporation. After trial, the jury awarded plaintiffs $800,000, and apportioned liability 25% to the employer, 40% to the manufacturer, and 35% to the distributor.

The principal issue in this posttrial motion is what amount must be paid by the remaining defendant distributor, where the defendant employer settled for more than its equitable share, and defendant corporate manufacturer was dissolved before trial. Application of CPLR 1601 pertaining to the limited [870]*870liability of defendants jointly liable, and General Obligations Law § 15-108 pertaining to releases by other joint tortfeasors, sets defendant distributor’s share of liability as $308,952.

As an initial matter, plaintiffs’ request to increase the distributor’s 35% share of liability by the manufacturer’s 40% of liability, to 75%, upon their claim that they do not have jurisdiction to enforce its judgment against the manufacturer, is without merit. CPLR 1601 (1) provides: "when a verdict * * * in an action * * * for personal injury is determined in favor of a claimant in an action involving two or more tortfeasors jointly liable * * * and the liability of a defendant is found to be fifty percent or less of the total liability assigned to all persons liable, the liability of such defendant to the claimant for non-economic loss shall not exceed that defendant’s equitable share determined in accordance with the relative culpability of each person causing or contributing to the total liability for non-economic loss; provided, however that the culpable conduct of any person not a party to the action shall not be considered in determining any equitable share herein if the claimant proves that with due diligence he was unable to obtain jurisdiction over such person in said action”.

Plaintiffs cite In re Brooklyn Navy Yard Asbestos Litig. (971 F2d.831 [2d Cir 1992]) in support of their position. Brooklyn Navy Yard offers guidance in the molding of verdicts where both CPLR 1601, which establishes the limited liability of joint tortfeasors for noneconomic loss found to be 50% or less liable, and General Obligations Law § 15-108, which governs the effects of settlements on the liability of nonsettling joint tortfeasors, apply.

Brooklyn Navy Yard (supra) involved hundreds of actions by workers exposed to asbestos. Prior to trial most of the plaintiffs settled their claims. At trial the court gave all parties " 'wide latitude to introduce evidence to establish who substantially contributed to the alleged injuries,’ allowing the defendants 'to argue that the damages were caused at least in part, if not entirely, by other manufacturers not present at trial.’ ” (In re Brooklyn Navy Yard Asbestos Litig., supra, 971 F2d, at 844845.) The jury attributed shares of fault to various bankrupt and nonparty tortfeasors whom plaintiffs were unable to sue for recovery of damages. Since plaintiffs were unable to recover from the bankrupt and nonparty tortfeasors, the District Court reallocated their shares to the trial’s nonsettling defendants. On appeal one of the issues was whether the District Court properly reallocated those shares of fault to the [871]*871nonsettling defendants. The Court of Appeals affirmed despite the inherent unfairness of holding the nonsettling defendants accountable for more than their share of fault instead of spreading the liability among all culpable parties, finding that a tortfeasor who files a bankruptcy petition is one over whom jurisdiction cannot be obtained because the automatic stay provision of the Bankruptcy Code precludes obtaining effective jurisdiction. The court noted that the nonsettling defendants could seek contribution from bankrupt and absent joint tortfeasors under CPLR article 14.

Brooklyn Navy Yard (supra) appears to address only tortfeasors who are bankrupt or are completely out of a plaintiff’s jurisdictional reach. It does not elaborate under which circumstances tortfeasors remain out of a plaintiff’s reach. Brooklyn Navy Yard is distinguishable from the case at bar. The manufacturer did not file a bankruptcy petition; it dissolved. Its assets were purchased and a new corporation formed. In any event, the manufacturer was properly served with a summons and complaint, and a verified answer was filed. While it may be true that plaintiffs will have to determine how to enforce the judgment against the dissolved or successor corporation, plaintiffs’ characterization that "jurisdiction” to enforce the judgment against the manufacturer cannot be obtained is inaccurate. CPLR 1601 speaks of obtaining in personam jurisdiction of a party in an action, and has nothing to do with enforcement. (Cf., Zakshevsky v City of New York, 149 Misc 2d 52 [Sup Ct, Kings County 1990].)

Moreover, the corporate manufacturer’s sale of its assets and dissolution during the course of the instant action does not preclude it from liability in this lawsuit. Business Corporation Law § 1006 (b) provides that "[t]he dissolution of a corporation shall not affect any remedy available to or against such corporation, its directors, officers or shareholders for any right or claim existing or any liability incurred before such dissolution”. Consequently, plaintiffs’ contention that the limitations set forth in CPLR 1601 should be deemed inapplicable is without merit, and the distributor shall not be held accountable for more than its 35% share for noneconomic damages in accordance with the statutory mandate.

The jury returned a verdict in the amount of $800,000, itemized as follows:

past medical expenses 10,000

[872]*872past pain and suffering 485,660

past lost earnings 80,640

future medical expenses 1,500

future pain and suffering 4,000

future lost earnings 18,200

spouse’s derivative claim 200,000

Total 800,000

Defendant distributor’s liability as limited by CPLR 1601 pertaining to the limited liability of persons jointly liable, and reduced by the set-off provisions of General Obligations Law § 15-108 pertaining to releases by other joint tortfeasors is $308,952. This figure was determined by applying the five-step formula set forth in Brooklyn Navy Yard (supra).

Step 1. Ascertain the CPLR 1601 liability cap for noneconomic losses: $241,381.

CPLR 1601 is concerned only with noneconomic damages: past and future pain and suffering, and the claim for loss of services. The liability cap for noneconomic damages is determined by the addition of those items of noneconomic damages, multiplied by the distributor’s percentage of liability.

past pain and suffering 485,660

derivative claim 200,000

total noneconomic damages 689,660

distributor’s share of liability X 35%

distributor’s maximum liability 241,381

for noneconomic damages

Step 2.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
172 Misc. 2d 868, 656 N.Y.S.2d 111, 1997 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 92, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dominguez-v-fixrammer-corp-nysupct-1997.