In most cases, the plaintiff will sue each defendant, but note that getting a judgment does not mean getting paid. Often, the plaintiff will try to locate the judgment against the defendant most easily or have the most assets, which is the right that joint and several liability gives to the plaintiff. In this case, the defendant, who is required to pay the judgment, will require the other defendant to bring pro rata actions and, if necessary, sue him. For example, suppose A, B, and C negligently violate V. V successfully sues A, B and C for $1,000,000. If the court applies a system of joint and several liability, V could require A V to pay the full $1,000,000. A, they could require a contribution from B and C. However, if B or C could not pay, A would have to pay the full $1,000,000. For example, if I drive my car negligently and hit you, but my brakes failed due to a negligent installation by my mechanic, then I hit you at twice the speed I would have had if I could have braked, then me and my mechanic can be sued and jointly and severally and several liability can be imposed. Another client, who became self-employed, indicated that he had to look at the assets of his joint ventures as carefully as the project itself each time he started a business, because his risk was not necessarily limited to his share in the business and if his partners did not have funds, he would be the target of all creditors. including tax authorities. I love helping my clients buy their first home, sell their starters, move on to their next big adventure, or move on to the next phase of their lives. The trust my clients have in a transaction and throughout the process is one of the most rewarding aspects of exercising this type of right.
My very first class in law school was on property law, and let me tell you, it was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I vividly remember opening the big red book and looking at the pages without a clue what I was reading. Despite these first scary moments, I came to love the property. My obsession with real estate law was consolidated when I worked in Virginia at a law firm outside of DC. I led the settlement (receivership) department and learned the specifics of transactions and the unique needs of the parties. My husband and I bought our first home in Virginia in 2012 and even though we were lawyers, there was so much we didn`t know, especially when it came to our HOA and mortgage. Our real estate agent was a wonderful resource in finding our home and negotiating some of the most important terms, but something was missing. I have spent the last 10 years helping those who were in the same situation as us to better understand the process. If two or more defendants acting jointly injure the plaintiff, or if two or more defendants acting independently injure the plaintiff and the resulting damage cannot be attributed to a particular defendant, all defendants are liable for all damages of the plaintiff and the total amount of the judgment. Each defendant is therefore individually and fully liable for the damage, although all defendants are jointly liable for it. There is a fundamental difference between joint and several liability and multiple liability. The term joint liability refers to the share of responsibility attributed to two or more parties involved in an entity.
Multiple liability refers to a situation in which all parties are responsible for their respective contribution to the crime. Some States have limited the application of joint and several liability, particularly where tort liability is mentioned. Therefore, California limits it to economic damages, not punitive damages. Illinois has eliminated joint and several liability in cases of negligence where a defendant is less than twenty-five percent guilty. New York and Iowa have eliminated joint and several liability in negligence tort actions for parties who are less than fifty percent guilty. Louisiana and Mississippi limit joint liability to fifty percent of total damages. However, joint and several liability also has certain drawbacks: if two or more persons or entities are held liable to another, whether for breach of contract or tort such as negligence or personal injury, the doctrine of joint and several liability may come into play. In its simplest form, this means that each defendant is liable to the plaintiff for the entire claim.
That is, if fifty thousand out of two persons are owed to me, each of them is responsible to me for the fifty thousand persons, and I can collect this amount from both. (I can`t collect more than I`m owed, but I can collect the full amount of one or both of them.) An example is when a group of lenders provides a loan – called a syndicated loan. In such an agreement, the loan agreement usually states that each lender (usually a bank) is responsible for its share of the loan amount. If one of the lenders fails to meet its obligations to the borrower, the borrower can sue that particular lender.