Weidenfeller v. Star and Garter
California Court of Appeal
2 Cal. Rptr. 2d 14 (1991)
Weidenfeller (plaintiff) was assaulted in the parking lot of Star and Garter (defendant), a bar he claimed negligently failed to provide adequate lighting and security; a jury allocated fault 75 percent to the assailant Broughton (defendant), 20 percent to Star and Garter, and 5 percent to Weidenfeller, awarding $122,500 in economic and $250,000 in non-economic damages. Because Broughton had no assets, the trial court held Star and Garter jointly and severally liable for the full 95 percent of economic damages but, applying a state statute, limited its non-economic damages liability to its own 20 percent fault share; Weidenfeller appealed that limitation.
Whether a statute limiting a defendant's liability for non-economic damages to its own proportional share of fault applies when a co-defendant's liability arises from an intentional tort rather than negligence.