Good Faith Settlement in Mass Toxic Tort Litigation

For purpose of determining whether defendant in mass toxic tort litigation settled in good faith, a government-ordered environmental cleanup was not part of the settlement consideration. Although trial court gave some weight to the value of the remediation in approving settlement, the error was harmless because defendant’s’ monetary payment, standing alone, was well within the range of its proportionate liability. Good faith settlement could be approved without an individualized allocation of the settlement proceeds among the numerous plaintiffs and between their economic and noneconomic damages. Dole Food Company, Inc. v. Superior Court (Shell Oil Company) - filed December 1, 2015, Second District, Div. Three Read Full text Here: http://sos.metnews.com/sos.cgi?1215//B262044