Question By: Joint and several liability is a rule followed in some states, in which two or more parties can be held independently liable for the full amount of a personal injury plaintiff’s damages, regardless of their respective degrees of fault. Joint and several liability differs in law from comparative fault, in which multiple parties are assigned responsibility for a portion of the damages in relation to the degree of fault that they bear for the harm.
Key Takeways
- In law, joint and several liability makes all parties in a suit responsible for damages up to the entire amount awarded.
- That is, if one party is unable to pay, the others named must pay more than their share.
- More commonly, comparative fault laws limit an individual's payment to a proportion based on the extent of their fault.
Legal Term : Works
- The concepts that are the foundation of the complete legal term have to be comprehended. It is because when two or more parties are deemed to be liable for the same liability, they are said to be jointly liable, severally liable, or jointly and severally liable.
- When persons are said to have “joint liability,” it means that each natural person or party has equal responsibility and is liable for the full amount of action (as stipulated by their agreement and the nature of their dealings) relevant to the identified obligations.
Risk Reduction and Liability Reduction
Joint and several liability reduces plaintiffs' risk that one or more defendants are judgment-proof by shifting that risk onto the other defendants. Only if all defendants are judgment-proof will a plaintiff be unable to recover anything.
However, this system can cause inequities, particularly where a relatively blameless defendant is forced to bear the financial burden of an incredibly guilty co-defendant's insolvency.
Criticism of Joint and Several Liability
As noted, joint and several liability tends to benefit the plaintiff, as it increases the chances that all of the damages awarded can be collected.
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