Many personal injury and wrongful death cases in Georgia involve more than one defendant. A truck accident case, for example, might name the driver, the trucking company, a maintenance contractor, a shipping broker, and a parts manufacturer. When a case has multiple defendants, an injured plaintiff is not required to resolve the entire case all at once. Georgia law permits a plaintiff to settle with one or some defendants while continuing to pursue the claim against the remaining defendants. These are commonly called partial settlements.
Partial settlements are allowed
Georgia law has long recognized that a plaintiff may settle with fewer than all defendants. There is no rule requiring an all-or-nothing resolution. A plaintiff who reaches an acceptable agreement with one defendant may take that settlement, give that defendant a release, and proceed to trial or further negotiation against the others. This flexibility is a normal and accepted feature of multi-party litigation in Georgia.
The terms of a partial settlement are documented in a release or settlement agreement between the plaintiff and the settling defendant. That agreement ends the claim against the settling defendant, while the lawsuit continues against the non-settling parties.
The release of one defendant and its effect on others
A central question in partial settlements is whether releasing one defendant also releases the others. Under older common law, a release of one joint tortfeasor could be treated as a release of all. Georgia has moved away from that harsh rule. Under modern Georgia law, a release given to one tortfeasor does not automatically discharge other tortfeasors unless the release by its terms so provides. The intent expressed in the release controls. A release can be drafted to release only the settling defendant while expressly preserving the claims against everyone else, and Georgia courts give effect to that expressed intent.
This means a plaintiff and a settling defendant can structure the agreement so that the partial settlement does not give a windfall to the remaining defendants and does not extinguish the ongoing case.
Apportionment and the modern framework
Georgia’s approach to multiple defendants is shaped by its apportionment statute, O.C.G.A. Section 51-12-33. Georgia abolished joint and several liability in most circumstances as part of tort reform. Under the current framework, the trier of fact assigns a percentage of fault to each responsible party, and each defendant is generally liable only for the share of damages corresponding to its own percentage of fault. The apportionment statute also allows fault to be considered against nonparties in appropriate circumstances.
This framework affects how partial settlements work. Because each defendant is typically responsible only for its own apportioned share, a plaintiff who settles with one defendant and proceeds against another is, at trial, seeking the percentage of fault attributable to the remaining defendant. The fact that one defendant settled does not erase the claim against the others, and the jury’s task of allocating fault continues with respect to the parties still in the case.
Contribution among defendants
A related concept is contribution, which is the right of one defendant who has paid more than its share to recover part of that payment from another responsible party. Georgia addresses this in O.C.G.A. Section 51-12-32. Under that statute, the right of a joint tortfeasor to contribution is not lost or prejudiced merely because a claim has been compromised and settled.
The relationship between the contribution statute and the apportionment statute is nuanced. Where damages have been apportioned by the trier of fact under O.C.G.A. Section 51-12-33, contribution as to those apportioned amounts is generally foreclosed, because each defendant pays only its own share and there is nothing to contribute. Georgia courts have recognized, however, that the right of contribution can still exist under O.C.G.A. Section 51-12-32 between settling joint tortfeasors in situations where there has been no apportionment of damages by a trier of fact, such as where defendants resolve a matter by settlement rather than by a verdict that allocates fault. This is an area where the precise procedural posture matters, and the interaction of the two statutes has been the subject of detailed Georgia appellate decisions.
Effect of a partial settlement on the amount recoverable
When a plaintiff settles with one defendant and obtains a verdict against another, questions can arise about how the settlement amount interacts with the verdict. Under the apportionment framework, a non-settling defendant is generally responsible for its own percentage share of the total damages as found by the jury. The detailed handling of settlement credits and set-offs depends on the structure of the case, whether fault has been apportioned, and the specific terms of the settlement. These are technical questions that courts resolve based on the statutes and the facts of the particular case.
High-low and other structured arrangements
Partial settlements can take various forms. Parties sometimes use structured settlements that pay out over time, and they sometimes use agreements that set a floor and a ceiling on a defendant’s exposure while the case proceeds. The permissibility and treatment of any particular arrangement depend on its terms and on Georgia law governing settlements. The general point remains that Georgia law allows considerable flexibility in resolving a multi-party case in stages.
Court approval in certain cases
Most settlements between adults do not require court approval. Certain categories of cases are different. Settlements involving the claims of minors, settlements involving incapacitated persons, and wrongful death and estate matters can require court involvement or approval to ensure the settlement is proper and the proceeds are handled correctly. Whether approval is required depends on the nature of the claim and the parties involved.
Summary
Settlements with some but not all parties are permissible under Georgia law and are a routine part of multi-defendant litigation. A plaintiff may settle with one or more defendants and continue the case against the rest. A release of one defendant does not automatically discharge the others when the release expresses an intent to preserve the remaining claims. Georgia’s apportionment statute, O.C.G.A. Section 51-12-33, generally limits each defendant to its own share of fault, and the contribution statute, O.C.G.A. Section 51-12-32, preserves contribution rights in defined circumstances even after a settlement. The detailed treatment of settlement credits, contribution, and any required court approval depends on the structure of the case and the specific facts.
Disclaimer
This article is provided strictly for general educational and informational purposes. It is intended to explain how Georgia law works as a matter of public legal education, and it does not constitute legal advice, a legal opinion, or a recommendation about any particular course of action. Reading this article, or contacting the website on which it appears, does not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader and any law firm, attorney, or author.
The law changes over time. Statutes, regulations, court rules, and judicial decisions discussed here may have been amended, repealed, superseded, or reinterpreted after the date of publication, and citations to specific code sections or cases reflect the law only as it was understood when this article was written. The application of any legal principle also depends heavily on the specific facts and circumstances of an individual matter, and outcomes vary from case to case.
For these reasons, no one should rely on this article as a substitute for advice from a licensed Georgia attorney who can review the particular facts involved. The author and publisher make no warranty, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or applicability of the information provided, and disclaim any liability for any action taken or not taken based on this content.