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This case arises out of the falling
concrete ceiling panels from the Big Dig Interstate 90
Highway Connector Tunnel, (“Connector Tunnel”), which
killed a woman on July 10, 2006.
On January 23, 2008, the Commonwealth and
the United States entered into a global settlement with
Bechtel Corporation and several related parties
(“Bechtel”), under which the defendants agreed to pay
$450,230,500 in exchange for a release from all criminal
and civil liability arising out of construction defects
in the Connector Tunnel. The settlement, however, did
not allocate the payment among the various claims. Based
on the settlement, Bechtel moved to dismiss the cross
claims against it by the remaining defendants. The court
denied the motion without prejudice.
The Massachusetts joint tortfeasor
statute, M.G.L. ch. 231, § 4, provides that when one of
two or more persons liable |
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for the same injury receives a release
from the plaintiff, “[i]t shall discharge the tortfeasor
to whom it is given from all liability for contribution
to any other tortfeasor.” The statute also provides that
the non-settling defendants receive a reduction of any
judgment against them by the amount of the settlement.
Where the underlying settlement resolves
a number of claims, not all of which are ones involving
potential joint liability, then there must be an
allocation made in the settlement, so that the reduction
available to the non-settling defendants is known, and a
determination of whether the settlement is in good faith
can be made. “Stated bluntly, until the Global
Settlement sets forth the amount allocated to the
settlement of the instant civil claim that can be used
to offset any judgment to be entered against the
non-settling defendants, there is no settlement that
entitles [Bechtel] to the release of the cross-claims.”
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