Spector v. K-Mart Corporation
Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division
471 N.Y.S.2d 711 (1984)
Relevant factsFree
Spector (plaintiff) executed a general release of SmithKline (third-party defendant), the manufacturer of a drug he alleged harmed him, in exchange for a settlement, and the release nominally extended to "all other persons, firms, or corporations"; when Spector separately sued K-Mart (defendant), the retailer that sold him the drug, SmithKline moved to dismiss K-Mart's resulting indemnification claim against it, arguing the release covered K-Mart too.
IssueFree
Whether, under New York law, a written release of liability applies to a party where the document fails to specifically identify such party by name or otherwise.