Can't get no satisfaction...? Well, some plaintiffs will, but the court will likely say once is enough
THE ONE SATISFACTION RULE & SETTLEMENT CREDITS
The purpose of the one satisfaction rule is to prevent a windfall to the plaintiff, not to deprive the plaintiff of full recovery for his or her injury from multiple defendants simply because a contract limits the liability of one of the defendants. See, e.g., First Title Co. of Waco v. Garrett, 860 S.W.2d 74, 78 (Tex. 1993) (“The rationale for this doctrine is that the plaintiff should not receive a windfall by recovering an amount in court that covers the plaintiff’s entire damages, but to which a settling defendant has already partially contributed.”); Smith v. Cudd Pressure Control, Inc., 126 S.W.3d 106, 110 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2003, pet. denied) (“[T]he ‘One Satisfaction Rule’ . . . was designed to prevent a windfall to plaintiffs, and dictates that when a plaintiff files a suit against multiple defendants for a single injury, any settlements will be credited against the amount for which non-settling defendants are found liable.”)
SOURCE: HOUSTON COURT OF APPEALS - 01-10-00672-CV - 12/1/11
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