St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center and Catholic Health Initiatives v. Edgar Shelton and Clara — Danielson, J…

Summary

Justice Danielson dissented, arguing that the several-liability statute applies even when only one defendant remains in the case and that the circuit court should have developed a procedure to allocate fault attributable to a settled or absent tortfeasor. He would have treated Golden Living as a necessary party for allocation purposes and allowed St. Vincent to be liable only for its proportionate share. Justice Hart, dissenting in part and concurring in part, likewise would have recognized St. Vincent and Golden Living as joint tortfeasors but agreed that evidence of Golden Living’s responsibility and settlement remained admissible.