It’s a long way from Mick Jagger’s early rock’n roll hit “I can’t get no satisfaction” to the exciting doctrine of double satisfaction but here is the story. First of all, there has to be a lawsuit to get some satisfaction. If the claim in the lawsuit or the judgment based on the lawsuit has been satisfied by payment, that payment wipes out or destroys any case (“cause of action”) against other persons who were in some measure responsible for the same loss. In other words, the person who suffered the loss cannot pursue a second payment because this constitutes an attempt at double recovery or double satisfaction and is barred by the courts.
A court decision illustrates the application of the doctrine of double satisfaction. The plaintiff sued an architect, a general contractor, and a roofer for building defects to a garage and roof. A separate allegation was made against the architect with respect to the driveway. The general contractor paid into court a sum of money in full satisfaction of the claims of the plaintiff against it for the garage and the roof and the plaintiff accepted it. The architect moved to strike out those portions of the statement of claim in which allegations were made against the architect with respect to the garage and roof. The action was successfully stayed with respect to the garage and roof claims because of the payment by the general contractor. The litigation was left with only the driveway problem between the plaintiff and the architect.
A party to a lawsuit may also acknowledge the satisfaction of a judgment by signing a document and filing it with the court. The document tells the public that the judgment has been paid. And Hey Mick! the legal document is actually called a “satisfaction piece.”