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Illinois Tool Works12/31/2003
roach may not allow full contribution recovery to the third party in all cases, it is the solution we consider most consistent with fairness and the various statutory schemes before us.' [Citation.]" Kotecki, 146 Ill. 2d at 165.
Consequently, in the present case, the maximum amount that Tapecoat would be responsible for compensating the Lucas plaintiffs' alleged injuries would be the amount of its statutory worker's compensation liability, or $234,421.97.
At the outset, we remark that we are in agreement with a proposition made by IMC in its reply brief that Minnesota law is instructive in addressing this issue. In fact, because the supreme court's decision in Kotecki is based almost entirely on the Minnesota Supreme Court's decision in Lambertson v. Cincinnati Corp., 312 Minn. 114, 257 N.W.2d 679 (1977), we find Minnesota law to be particularly didactic in addressing the interplay between the Contribution Act and the Workers' Compensation Act. See Schachter, Kotecki v. Cyclops Welding Corp.: A Judicial Balancing Act, 42 DePaul L. Rev. 741, 762 (1992) ("The Illinois Supreme Court based its decision in Kotecki on the Minnesota Supreme Court's decision in Lambertson v. Cincinnati Corp. Therefore, the foregoing discussion of Lambertson and its progeny lends insight into the Kotecki decision").
ITW's main argument on appeal is that because it settled with the Lucas plaintiffs for $2 million and was to receive only $670,326.57 from IMC plus the $234,421.97 amount of Tapecoat's statutory worker's compensation liability, ITW then became solely responsible for the amount that was uncollectible from Tapecoat, i.e., the difference between Tapecoat's pro rata share of responsibility and the amount at which its liability was capped under Kotecki. In other words, ITW argues, the trial court's decision essentially made ITW liable for its pro rata share of $782,047.69 (35% of the common liability) plus the amount that was not collectible from Tapecoat because of its liability cap, $547,625.72, for a total of $1,329,673.41, or nearly 60% of the common liability.
ITW argues that the trial court's judgment award is contrary to both of the stated public policies of the Contribution Act because it forces ITW to pay more than its equitable share of the responsibility and because such a holding actually discourages settlement in instances where an employer may be added as a defendant because the employer's liability is capped under Kotecki. And, according to section 3 of the Contribution Act, because the $547,625.72 is uncollectible from Tapecoat, it becomes the responsibility of the remaining tortfeasors who are jointly and severally liable to share that uncollectible obligation in accordance with their pro rata liability. 740 ILCS 100/3 (West 2000).
ITW then notes that the supreme court addressed the effect of the Kotecki cap limit in determining the pro rata share of parties to a contribution action in Claudy v. Commonwealth Edison Co., 169 Ill. 2d 39 (1995). There, the plaintiff brought a wrongful death action against the City of Chicago and the Commonwealth Edison Company in connection with the death of her husband, who was electrocuted while removing a tree near power lines. Claudy, 169 Ill. 2d at 40. The City of Chicago filed a contribution action against the plaintiff's decedent's employer, AAA Tree Service, and plaintiff also filed a workers' compensation claim against the employer. Claudy, 169 Ill. 2d at 40. Thereafter, the plaintiff and the City of Chicago agreed that $500,000 constituted the amount of damages suffered by the plaintiff and, based upon that figure, settled the wrongful death suit. Claudy, 169 Ill. 2d at 41. Of that settlement amount, the C
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