Dictionary
joint and several liability
liability of more than one person for which each person has a duty to fully perform and may be sued for the entire amount of damages done by all
The owner and the manager had joint and several liability for the entire amount of damages claimed.
Phrase Bank
- There are proposals to bring back joint and several liability for secondary defendants.
- The principle of joint and several liability in civil suits is weakened.
- The spouse may be relieved of joint and several liability.
- Lenders do not wish to be subject to joint and several liability.
- Limits on joint and several liability were enacted.
- Joint and several liability allows a plaintiff to recover all damages from any individual defendant.
Additional Notes
- Joint and several liability can also arise where a husband and wife or members of an organization owe the government income taxes. In such cases, the revenue agency may collect on the debt from any and all of the debtors.
- A small number of states do not strictly follow the doctrine of joint and several liability. In such jurisdictions, called comparative negligence jurisdictions, liability is prorated according to the percentage of the total damages attributable to each defendant's conduct.