Pirkig v. Dennis

In Pirkig v. Dennis (1989) 215 Cal. App. 3d 1560, the plaintiffs settled with every defendant except one prior to the damages phase of the trial. At the conclusion of the trial, the court set off the awarded damages against the amount the plaintiff received in settlement from the other defendants, resulting in a judgment for the plaintiff of zero. Nevertheless, the court determined that the plaintiff was the prevailing party on the contract and was entitled to attorney fees as it prevailed on the issue of liability and would have also recovered damages but for the fortuitous circumstance (for the remaining defendant) that it had previously settled with other defendants. ( Id. at pp. 1565-1568.)