CACI No. 3960. Comparative Fault of Plaintiff - General Verdict

Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (2023 edition)

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3960.Comparative Fault of Plaintiff - General Verdict
If you decide that [name of plaintiff]’s negligence combined with [name of
defendant]’s [negligence/conduct/product] in causing [name of plaintiff]’s
harm, then you must decide the percentage of responsibility for the
harm that you attribute to each of them.
First, decide the total amount of [name of plaintiff]’s damages. Then
decide the percentage of responsibility that [name of plaintiff] and [name
of defendant] have for the damages. Then reduce the total damages by
the percentage of responsibility that you attribute to [name of plaintiff].
After you make these calculations, state the reduced damage award in
your verdict.
New September 2003; Revised December 2009
Sources and Authority
• “In determining to what degree the injury was due to the fault of the plaintiff, it
is logically essential that the plaintiff’s negligence be weighed against the
combined total of all other causative negligence; moreover, inasmuch as a
plaintiff’s actual damages do not vary by virtue of the particular defendants who
happen to be before the court, we do not think that the damages which a plaintiff
may recover against defendants who are joint and severally liable should
fluctuate in such a manner.” (American Motorcycle Assn. v. Superior Court
(1978) 20 Cal.3d 578, 590, fn. 2 [146 Cal.Rptr. 182, 578 P.2d 899].)
• “Proposition 51 . . . retains the joint liability of all tortfeasors, regardless of
their respective shares of fault, with respect to all objectively provable expenses
and monetary losses. On the other hand, the more intangible and subjective
categories of damage were limited by Proposition 51 to a rule of strict
proportionate liability. With respect to these noneconomic damages, the plaintiff
alone now assumes the risk that a proportionate contribution cannot be obtained
from each person responsible for the injury.” (DaFonte v. Up-Right, Inc. (1992)
2 Cal.4th 593, 600 [7 Cal.Rptr.2d 238, 828 P.2d 140].)
Secondary Sources
15 California Forms of Pleading and Practice, Ch. 177, Damages, § 177.45
(Matthew Bender)
33 California Points and Authorities, Ch. 380, Negligence, § 380.170 (Matthew
Bender)
16 California Points and Authorities, Ch. 165, Negligence, § 165.380 (Matthew
Bender)
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