pierringer release
Pierringer release. A release agreement in which the plaintiff releases a codefendant but reserves the right to proceed against the other defendants. • Under this release, the plaintiff agrees to reduce the claim against the remaining defendants by the amount of consideration paid for the release. The term derives from Pierringer v. Hoger, 124 N.W.2d 106 (Wis. 1963), in which the court ruled that a trial court could give immediate effect to a release as long as the plaintiff would satisfy any portion of a judgment against a nonsettling party in excess of that party’s proportionate share of damages. So the trial court could enter judgment only for the nonsettlor’s proportionate share of damages.
