The minor plaintiff suffered a severe brain injury when the vehicle in which he was riding was struck by a car driven by a drunk driver that had first collided with a concrete construction barrier. The drunk driver's auto carrier paid its policy limits of $20,000. Plaintiff then sued a construction company that was working in the area which then filed a third party complaint against the drunk driver. The trial court dismissed the third party claim finding the settlement was made in good faith because there was no evidence of wrongful conduct, collusion or fraud, and the full policy limit had been tendered.

The First District affirmed. Whether a settlement satisfies the good faith requirement of the Contribution Act is left to the discretion of the trial court based upon a consideration of the totality of the circumstances. The drunk driver had no assets available aside from the minimal insurance limits, she was unemployed and had a chronic and sometimes disabling medical disease. While it is likely the damages would far surpass the available insurance limit, the trial court recognized that plaintiff would be unable to recover any amount above the insurance limit. Consequently, dismissal of the Complaint was not an abuse of discretion. Miranda v. Walsh Group Ltd., 2013 IL App (1st) 122674.