Yesterday the Rhode Island Senate unanimously approved
legislation written specifically to encourage a settlement in the state's ongoing lawsuit against those it holds responsible for the mismanagement of a $75 million state loan to Curt Schilling's now-defunct 38 Studios, according to a
report from the Providence Journal.
The report goes into excellent detail about the state's ongoing
lawsuit against former 38 Studios head Curt Schilling and 13 other defendants, including former state employees, and is worth reading in full.
Put simply, this 38 Studios bill will amend state law to allow a defendant in the 38 Studios lawsuit to independently agree to a settlement with the prosecution, without thereafter being liable for any judgment made by the court against the other defendants.
"It changes the joint torfeasors law in the state of Rhode Island," Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Michael McCaffrey reportedly explained on the state Senate floor yesterday. "Currently, if you settle with one defendant, and there are multiple defendants and there is a judgment, then that one defendant who settles could still be responsible for the judgment."
This bill will reportedly
only apply to the 38 Studios case, and must now pass through the Rhode Island House of Representatives before it can be signed into law.
