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This Act provides that if a person pays damages in respect of a civil action (e.g., in Negligence), but is not himself entirely to blame for the claimant's loss, he can seek a contribution towards the damages from any other party that is partly to blame. To succeed under this Act, it is not necessary that the claimant was subject to a judgement against him. If the claimant has settled out of court, or on the basis of money paid into court, he has still suffered a loss. However, it is conceivable that a party might settle, when he might have obtained judgement in his favour if the matter were heard in court. It would, perhaps, not be reasonable for other parties to compensate him for his poor judgement. Consequently s.1(4) states that a claimant who has settled is only entitled to a contribution if the facts of the case reveal that he would have been held liable, had he not settled.