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Rizzo v. Haines

555 A.2d 58 (1989)

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Rizzo v. Haines

Pennsylvania Supreme Court
555 A.2d 58 (1989)

  • Written by Sharon Feldman, JD

Facts

Frank Rizzo was injured in a collision with a Philadelphia police vehicle. After three surgeries, Rizzo became partially paralyzed. Attorney Barton Haines (defendant) sued the City of Philadelphia (the city case) on Rizzo’s behalf. Haines also sued Rizzo’s surgeon on behalf of Rizzo and his wife (the Rizzos) (plaintiffs). During the trial of the city case, the city’s attorney told Haines he could get more than $550,000 to settle the case. Haines did not inform the Rizzos or ascertain how much the city was willing to pay. The jury returned a $450,000 verdict for Rizzo. Haines recommended that Rizzo accept the award. The medical-malpractice action was dismissed because the city-case recovery had compensated Rizzo for his injuries. The Rizzos sued Haines for negligent settlement. The city’s attorney testified that he had authority to settle for $750,000. The court awarded the Rizzos $300,000 in compensatory damages. The judgment was affirmed. On appeal, Haines argued that the court improperly imposed on him a duty to ascertain opposing counsel’s settlement authority, ruled that expert testimony was unnecessary to establish the standard of care, and held that the Rizzos’ damages were not speculative.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Stout, J.)

Concurrence (Flaherty, J.)

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