Walter Smith v. Norman K. Tiffany

Summary

The Supreme Court of South Carolina affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment dismissing Brown Trucking, Brown Logistics and Tiffany’s third‑party complaint against insurer Mizzell. The Court held that the South Carolina Contribution Among Joint Tortfeasors Act’s unambiguous language limits fault allocation to the plaintiff and listed defendants, and that a settling tortfeasor is immune from contribution, so Rule 14 and Rule 19 cannot be used to add Mizzell. Justice Pleicones dissented, arguing that the Act should permit joinder of an immune non‑party to achieve fair apportionment.