218
Opinion of the Court
IV
Respondents advance two additional arguments against the proportionate share approach: that it violates the "one satisfaction rule" and that it is inconsistent with Edmonds v. Compagnie Generale Transatlantique, 443 U. S. 256 (1979).
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the "one satisfaction rule" barred a plaintiff from litigating against one joint tortfeasor, if he had settled with and released another.27 This
version of the one satisfaction rule has been thoroughly repudiated.28 Respondents do not ask that the one satisfaction rule be applied with its original strictness, but rather in the milder form in which some courts still invoke it to reduce a plaintiff's recovery against a nonsettling defendant in order to ensure that the plaintiff does not secure more than necessary to compensate him for his loss.29 As a preliminary matter, it is far from clear that there was any danger of super-compensatory damages here. First, there is the question of the crane damages, which were not covered by the judgment against River Don. In addition, even limiting consideration to deck damages, the jury fixed plaintiff's losses at $2.1 million. Plaintiff received $1 million in settlement from the sling defendants. Under the proportionate share approach, plaintiff would receive an additional $798,000 from River Don. In total, plaintiff would recover only $1.798 million, over $300,000 less than its damages. The one satisfaction rule comes into play only if one assumes that the percent share of liability apportioned to McDermott and the sling defendants really represented McDermott's contributory
27 Conway v. Pottsville Union Traction Co., 253 Pa. 211, 97 A. 1058 (1916); Rogers v. Cox, 66 N. J. L. 432, 50 A. 143 (1901); W. Prosser, Law of Torts § 109, pp. 1105-1111 (1941).
28 W. Keeton, D. Dobbs, R. Keeton, & D. Owen, Prosser and Keeton on Law of Torts § 49, pp. 333-334 (5th ed. 1984); Restatement (Second) of Torts § 885(1), Comment b, at 334.
29 Rose v. Associated Anesthesiologists, 501 F. 2d 806, 809 (CADC 1974); Sanders v. Cole Municipal Finance, 489 N. E. 2d 117, 120 (Ind. App. 1986).
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