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Simple English definitions for legal terms
Pierringer release
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A quick definition of Pierringer release:
Term: Pierringer Release
Definition: A Pierringer release is an agreement between a plaintiff and one defendant in a lawsuit, where the plaintiff agrees to release one defendant from liability but reserves the right to continue the lawsuit against the other defendants. The plaintiff agrees to reduce the claim against the remaining defendants by the amount of money paid for the release. This type of release is named after a court case called Pierringer v. Hoger. The court ruled that a release could be given immediate effect as long as the plaintiff would satisfy any portion of a judgment against a non-settling party in excess of that party's proportionate share of damages. This means that the court can only enter judgment for the non-settling party's share of damages.
A more thorough explanation:
A Pierringer release is a legal agreement where the plaintiff releases one of the defendants from the lawsuit but reserves the right to continue the case against the other defendants.
For example, if a person is injured in a car accident involving two drivers, the injured person may agree to release one of the drivers from the lawsuit in exchange for compensation. However, the injured person can still pursue the case against the other driver.
The Pierringer release also requires the plaintiff to reduce the claim against the remaining defendants by the amount of compensation received from the released defendant.
The term "Pierringer release" comes from a court case called Pierringer v. Hoger, where the court ruled that a release can be immediately effective as long as the plaintiff agrees to only seek damages from the non-settling defendant's proportionate share of liability.