Civil Litigation
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Gouty v. Schnepel
26 Fla. L. Weekly 2586 (Fla. Sept. 13, 2001)
Plaintiff, who was injured by a bullet fired from a gun, brought an action against both the owner and the manufacturer of the gun. Plaintiff eventually settled the claim against the manufacturer prior to trial. The court found that the nonsettling defendant was not entitled to a setoff in the amount of the settlement against economic damages awarded in the verdict as no liability was found on the part of the nonsettling defendant. The court held that setoff statutes could not be used in circumstances where a jury finds that a nonsettling defendant is liable for economic damages, but finds that the settling defendant is not liable. According to the court, where a defendant is found to be 100% liable for the plaintiff
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