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Reinhold v. Lucas1/4/2005
PUBLISHED
Linda Reinhold (plaintiff) suffered an injury to her wrist and an injury to her neck in a vehicle collision on 1 October 1999. Plaintiff was a passenger in a vehicle owned and driven by Robert Francis Reinhold (third-party defendant). Third-party defendant stopped suddenly and collided with the vehicle in front of him. At the same time, a vehicle driven by Mattie Luella Lucas (defendant) collided with the rear of third-party defendant's vehicle.
Plaintiff filed a complaint on 6 April 2001, alleging that defendant's negligence caused plaintiff's injuries. Defendant denied these allegations and joined third-party defendant, seeking contribution from him should defendant be determined to be negligent. Third-party defendant filed a counterclaim against defendant for damages due to defendant's collision with third-party defendant's vehicle. Defendant again denied that she was negligent and asserted contributory negligence as an affirmative defense to third-party defendant's claims. Defendant served plaintiff with an offer of judgment in the amount of $3,000 on 20 September 2001, which plaintiff refused. Plaintiff settled her claim against third-party defendant for $5,000 on 6 June 2002, releasing him from further action.
At trial, defendant admitted negligence, but did not admit that her negligence was the proximate cause of plaintiff's or third-party defendant's injuries. Evidence presented by plaintiff showed that the medical expenses for her injuries were in excess of $9,600, and that her wrist injury was more likely caused by the first collision, rather than by the second collision. The jury found defendant's negligence to be the cause of plaintiff's and third-party defendant's injuries and awarded plaintiff $4,500. The jury also found that third-party defendant was not entitled to recover for his personal injuries, or for property damage, because he was contributorily negligent.
Pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1B-4, the trial court reduced plaintiff's $4,500 award by the $5,000 paid to plaintiff by third-party defendant. The damages therefore owed by defendant were less than zero dollars and the trial court entered an order on 8 October 2003 denying plaintiff compensatory damages from defendant. Pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 6-21.1, the trial court ordered defendant to pay plaintiff's attorney's fees of $7,500 and $1,382.65 in costs.
Plaintiff appeals the judgment denying compensatory damages from defendant; defendant appeals the award to plaintiff of costs and attorney's fees and the denial of defendant's request for costs.
I. Plaintiff's Appeal
Plaintiff argues the trial court erred when it reduced the amount of the judgment entered against defendant by the sum of money that plaintiff had received from third-party defendant. Specifically, plaintiff argues that N.C.G.S. § 1B-4 does not apply in this case. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1B-4 (2003) provides:
When a release or a covenant not to sue or not to enforce judgment is given in good faith to one of two or more persons liable in tort for the same injury or the same wrongful death:
(1) It does not discharge any of the other tort-feasors from liability for the injury or wrongful death unless its terms so provide; but it reduces the claim against the others to the extent of any amount stipulated by the release or the covenant, or in the amount of the consideration paid for it, whichever is the greater; and,
(2) It discharges the tort-feasor to whom it is given from all liability for contribution to any other tort-feasor.
Plaintiff correctly states that for N.C.G.S. § 1B-4 to apply, there must be a single indivisible
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