Effect of release of one tortfeasor on liability of others
Known as the Uniform Contribution Among Tortfeasors Act
The act spans §§ 10–10 (12 sections).
Applied in 6 court decisions — leading case Moore v. Missouri Pacific Railroad (1989)
Most recently applied in North Atlantic Fishing, Inc. v. Geremia (May 1993)
P.L. 1940, ch. 940, § 4; G.L. 1956, § 10-6-7; P.L. 2006, ch. 213, § 2; P.L. 2021, ch. 410, § 1, effective July 14, 2021; P.L. 2021, ch. 411, § 1, effective July 14, 2021.
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(1) A release by the injured person of one joint tortfeasor, whether before or after judgment, does not discharge the other tortfeasors unless the release so provides; but reduces the claim against the other tortfeasors in the amount of the consideration paid for the release.
(2) A release by the injured person of one joint tortfeasor relieves that tortfeasor from liability to make contribution to another joint tortfeasor.
Official source: Rhode Island General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain Rhode Island statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.