Driver Not Entitled to Set-Off Employer’s Settlement from Verdict

The Georgia Supreme Court has reversed a decision by the Court of Appeals in a DeKalb County case that involves a dispute over the amount of damages one woman must pay another for the car crash she caused.

According to evidence at trial, in 2004, Joan Dziwura struck the rear of a vehicle driven by Mindy Broda, injuring her. Broda and her husband sued Dziwura and Winmark Homes, the homebuilders for whom Dziwura worked. Dziwura was on her way to a meeting for real estate agents who were selling Winmark Homes when the accident occurred. Dziwura was covered by a $100,000 insurance policy, but the Brodas did not consider that enough, according to briefs filed in the case, and in 2008, the case proceeded to trial.

While the jury was deliberating, Broda and Winmark Homes agreed on a settlement. Under the “high-low” contract, the parties agreed that if Winmark received a favorable verdict or was assessed less than $350,000 in damages, it would pay the Brodas $250,000. If the verdict against Winmark was over $350,000, it would pay the Brodas the exact verdict amount up to a maximum of $3 million. The Brodas agreed to forego the difference of any verdict above $3.1 million.

After a week-long trial, the jury returned a verdict in the amount of $1,002,763, solely against Dziwura. The jury found that Winmark Homes was not liable for the wreck. Dziwura then filed a motion asking the court to reduce the $1 million verdict against her by the $250,000 Winmark had already agreed to pay. The trial court denied the motion, writing in its order that Winmark had been released from its liability and was therefore not a joint “tortfeasor” or wrongdoer. Dziwura appealed, and in March 2009, the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed the DeKalb County court’s ruling, finding that the amount she owed Broda should be reduced by the $250,000 because Broda was not entitled to recover an amount greater than what the jury awarded.

In a unanimous decision written by Justice Robert Benham (data), the high court ruled that the Court of Appeals was wrong, and Dziwura was not entitled to a set-off. Any benefit the injured party receives, the opinion says, “should not be shifted so as to create a windfall for the tortfeasor.” “If a windfall must be had, it will inure to the benefit of the injured party rather than relieve the wrongdoer of full responsibility for his wrongdoing.”

Here the jury determined Winmark Homes did nothing to cause Broda’s injuries. “Since appellee was found to be solely responsible for appellant’s injury, appellee was not entitled to a set-off for any payment received by appellant from a defendant whom the jury determined had no responsibility for the injury,” the opinion says.

More Information:
Georgia Supreme Court Database: BRODA V. DZIWURA (S09G1218)
Georgia Personal Injury Law Reference Page

More Information:
Attorney for Appellants (Brodas): Michael Goldberg
Attorneys for Appellee (Dziwura): William Anderson, Mary Beth Priest
Summary by Georgia Supreme Court Public Information Office