Young v. Latta

In Young v. Latta, 123 N.J. 584, 586, 589 A.2d 1020 (1991), the Court held that a nonsettling defendant is entitled to a credit under the Comparative Negligence Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.2, against a settling defendant, whether or not a cross-claim for contribution has been filed. The Young rule logically applies when there has been no settlement and all of the defendants remain in the case. However, the Court's holding in Young was not intended to "give a non-settling defendant free rein to assert the liability of a settling defendant without first providing the plaintiff with fair and timely notice." Young, supra, 123 N.J. at 597, 589 A.2d 1020. "A defendant who produces no expert report (whether its own or that of another party) and fails to allege well before trial the causative fault of a co-defendant may be precluded from asserting at trial that co-defendant's fault in the event of a settlement." Ibid.