Green v. McGee

Syllabus

This case arises out of an unusual car wreck. Green sued Hudgins and McGee, claiming both were at fault for the wreck even though the only collision was between McGee's vehicle and hers. She won a verdict of roughly $88,000 actual damages, punitive damages of $35,000 against McGee, and punitive damages of $35,000 against Hudgins. She appealed. Hudgins, the instigator of the vehicular pursuit, filed a cross-appeal. The main issue in the case is how to properly account for Green's $100,000 pretrial settlement with McGee's insurance carrier. Both Green and Hudgins argue the trial court erred on this point, but they reach different conclusions. Green argues the trial court impermissibly converted the separate punitive awards to a joint award and that she is due more money, not less. Hudgins argues that his liability to Green is completely extinguished because even though the jury awarded Green more than $100,000 in damages, Hudgins' share of the judgment is less than the $100,000 Green has already received. We agree that the trial court's setoff calculation was not correct, but we disagree with Hudgins' argument that this extinguishes all of his liability to Green. We respectfully disagree with the parties' remaining arguments for reversal.