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Clum v. Daisy Concrete, Inc.
Citations: 578 A.2d 684; 1989 Del. Super. LEXIS 492
Court: Superior Court of Delaware; December 28, 1989; Delaware; State Appellate Court
The court trial occurred from October 10 to October 18, 1989, resulting in a jury verdict favoring the plaintiffs with damages totaling $415,000. Four of the five defendants settled prior to trial, leaving Cantera-DiSabatino to defend alone. The jury assigned equal fault of 20% to each defendant, leading to a judgment against Cantera-DiSabatino for $83,000. The plaintiff sought to impose the full court costs of $5,718.07 on Cantera-DiSabatino, who agreed to pay post-trial costs of $2,512.70 but argued that pretrial costs of $3,205.87 should be shared with the settling defendants. However, the settling defendants were released from all liability and costs as per the release agreement, which the court affirmed should be interpreted in its entirety. The court emphasized that enforcing Cantera-DiSabatino's suggestion would undermine the settlement process and discourage future settlements. The court also addressed whether Cantera-DiSabatino should bear all pretrial costs, ultimately concluding that it should not, referencing Delaware law (10 Del.C. 5101) and case law suggesting that costs are not mandatory for the prevailing party in every case. Thus, the court indicated that there are circumstances under which costs may not be awarded, diverging from the notion of an automatic entitlement upon receiving a judgment. Judicial discretion governs the awarding of costs under the applicable statute, consistent with Superior Court Civil Rule 54(d), which allows costs to the prevailing party unless directed otherwise by the Court. It would be inequitable to impose all pretrial costs on a non-settling party in a multi-party suit, leading to the conclusion that Cantera-DiSabatino is liable only for a pro-rata share of pretrial costs, specifically 20% of $3,205.37, amounting to $641.07. The plaintiffs will cover the remaining costs. Cantera-DiSabatino's total financial responsibility includes $641.07 in pretrial costs and $2,512.70 in trial costs, totaling $3,153.77. Plaintiffs’ counsel is tasked with submitting an Order for these costs. The release document from November 27, 1989, aims to finalize the settlement of claims against the settling defendants, preventing any further claims related to the incident. The Court of Chancery is empowered to make cost orders that align with equity, making it unnecessary to address whether Cantera-DiSabatino’s contribution claim regarding court costs is barred under 10 Del.C. 6304(b) or affected by the release from the settling defendants.