Porter v. Ford Motor Co., 80-2608

• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois
• Citation: 59 Ill.Dec. 504,103 Ill.App.3d 848,431 N.E.2d 1261
• Docket Number: No. 80-2608,80-2608
• Parties: , 59 Ill.Dec. 504 Sally Podgorski PORTER, Special Administrator of the Estate of Arthur M. Podgorski, Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. FORD MOTOR COMPANY, Defendant-Appellee.
• Decision Date: 31 December 1981

Page 1261

431 N.E.2d 1261

103 Ill.App.3d 848, 59 Ill.Dec. 504

Sally Podgorski PORTER, Special Administrator of the Estate

of Arthur M. Podgorski, Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. FORD MOTOR COMPANY, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 80-2608.

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Fourth Division.

Dec. 31, 1981.

Leonard M. Ring & Associates, Leonard M. Ring and Judith E. Fors, Chicago, of counsel, for plaintiff-appellant.

Baker & McKenzie, Francis D. Morrissey, Thomas F. Tobin and Richard H. Donohue, Chicago, of counsel, for defendant-appellee.

JIGANTI, Justice:

Sally Podgorski Porter, special administrator of the estate of her deceased husband, Arthur M. Podgorski, brought this action against the Ford Motor Company to recover damages for breach of certain implied warranties in the design and manufacture of a 1972 Ford Pinto station wagon. (Uniform Commercial Code, Ill.Rev.Stat.1979, Ch. 26, par. 2-314-315.) Arthur Podgorski was fatally injured when the 1972 Ford Pinto station wagon which he was driving was struck by a vehicle driven by Charles Rainwater.

Immediately after the accident, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of Podgorski's estate by its administrator, the National Bank of Bloomington. The action sought recovery from Charles Rainwater. As a result of this litigation, National Bank of Bloomington on behalf of the estate entered into and executed an "Administrator's Release" on February 9, 1977. The language of this release will be considered momentarily.

On October 11, 1978, the instant cause of action was filed against the Ford Motor Company. Ford moved to dismiss the complaint on the grounds that the release executed on February 9, 1977, operated as a bar to any and all claims arising out of the accident on October 12, 1974. The trial court granted the defendant's motion to dismiss on these grounds.

The sole issue presented for review is whether the trial court was correct in holding that the "Administrator's Release" given in settlement of the prior lawsuit operates as a bar to the instant action against the Ford Motor Company. Our task as a reviewing court when confronted with such an issue is to construe the express terms of the "Administrator's Release" and give these terms their appropriate legal effect. (Florkiewicz v. Gonzalez (1976), 38 Ill.App.3d 115, 347 N.E.2d 401.) The relevant terms of the release are as follows:

"KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that the undersigned, National Bank of Bloomington, as Administrator of the Estate of Arthur M. Podgorski, deceased, in consideration of the payment of the sum of Forty Nine Thousand and no/100 Dollars ($49,000.00) to me in hand paid by Charles W. Rainwater and State Farm Insurance Company, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the undersigned does hereby release, acquit and discharge the said Charles W. Rainwater and State Farm Insurance Company and any person, firm or Corporation liable in his stead of any and from all claims of action, causes of action, damages or demand of whatever name or nature in any manner arisen, arising or to grow out of any and all occurrences and especially due to the death of Arthur M. Podgorski, which occurred October 12, 1974 at or near Saybrook, Illinois."

We believe that the language of the document is clear and unambiguous. (Williston, Contracts § 609, at 403 (3d ed. 1961).) The document is entitled "Release." The intent of the parties to the document is to "release, acquit and discharge." The things released are "all claims of action, causes of action, damages or demand of whatever name or nature in any manner arisen arising or to grow out of any and all occurrences and especially due to the death of Arthur M. Podgorski." The beneficiaries of the Release are "Charles W. Rainwater and State Farm Insurance Company and any person, firm or corporation liable in his stead."

A document, like the above, which has unqualified language of release; which releases all causes of action; and which releases both the direct beneficiary of the release and "any person, firm or corporation liable in his stead" is known as a full release. (Artoe v. Navajo Freight Lines, Inc. (1978), 65 Ill.App.3d 119, 22 Ill.Dec. 172, 382 N.E.2d 492.) The legal effect of a full release is twofold. First, a full release of one indivisible injury to any...