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No. 133031
| Roland Kaiser, Personal Representative of the |
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Kevin J. Rieman |
| Estate of Marion Rose Kaiser, Deceased, |
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Plaintiff-Appellee, |
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(Appeal from Ct of Appeals) |
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(Bay - Bielawski, L.) |
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| James Robert Allen, a/k/a James Krotzer, |
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John A. Lydick |
| Defendant-Appellant. |
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| __________________________________________ |
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Click to view briefs in Adobe format:
Plaintiff-Appellee's Brief on Appeal>>
Defendant-Appellant's Brief on Appeal>>
Michigan Association for Justice's (formerly the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association) Amicus
Curiae Brief>>
Background
Marion Kaiser was killed in an automobile accident. James Allen was the driver of the other car involved in the accident, and Gary Keidel owned the car. Roland Kaiser, personal representative of Marion Kaiser’s estate, sued Allen negligence and gross negligence, and also sued Keidel based on the vehicle owner liability statute, MCL 257.401. Keidel settled for $300,000 and was dismissed from the lawsuit. Allen stipulated to liability and the case proceeded to trial on the issue of damages only. The jury returned a verdict in the plaintiff’s favor. When asked, “[w]hat is the total amount of damages suffered by the Estate of Marion Rose Kaiser as a result of her death in this accident?” the jury awarded $100,000. The circuit court set off the $300,000 payment made by Keidel against the verdict, leaving $0 adjudged against Allen. The Court of Appeals reversed in an unpublished opinion, ruling that a set-off was improper. Keidel and Allen were joint tortfeasors, and under tort reform legislation, liability for each defendant was not joint and several, but merely several, the Court of Appeals reasoned. Thus, Keidel’s settlement represented damages attributable only to his own allocated fault, and no set-off was appropriate, the appellate court concluded. Allen appeals.
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