Pierringer (also spelled Pierrenger) releases are partial settlement agreements that release the settling defendant completely from the litigation in exchange for a carefully determined consideration. It reserves the right for the plaintiff to sue certain individuals named as the defendant to the party, while giving general release to other individuals named as the defendant. These agreements have a long history in the United States.
In British Columbia, the most prominent case examining these agreements was British Columbia Ferry Corp. v. T & N, 1995 CanLII 1810 (BCCA) - after which these agreements have come to be named.
BC Ferry was a combined appeal of three orders made in summary trial applications in the course of a multiparty construction suit.
According to lawyer Andrew Faith, "The BC Ferry case provides a solid foundation for the legitimacy of release-style partial settlement agreements in BC. It affirms the plaintiff’s discretion to seek damages on a several liability basis, and ability to protect a contracting defendant against indemnification for damages. The case also establishes procedural rights for nonsettling parties, a benefit Pierringer never conferred."
- A sample of BC Ferry clauses can be found in "Settlement Agreements in Multi-Party Settlements" by H. Elizabeth Allard in the CLE course: Construction Law - 2008 Update
- A sample Pierrenger agreement can be found in Appendix A to Chapter 4 of The Essential Guide to Settlement in Canada, Bathgate and McPherson, 2013
Content reviewed July 3, 2025
- British Columbia Ferry Corp. v. T & N, 1995 CanLII 1810 (BC CA)
- Settlement Agreements in Multi-party Settlements, Elizabeth Allard. - Available on site at Courthouse Libraries and CLE Online
- The Essential Guide to Settlement in Canada - Available on site at Courthouse Libraries BC