Also known as: joint liability · jointly and severally liable · joint and several liability
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Liability imposed on two or more parties for the same obligation or harm. Each party remains responsible for the entire amount even if others share the duty.
Marvin joined an existing podcast partnership after its equipment financing began. The supplier relied on Marvin's name in branding during forbearance talks. When the partnership defaulted, the supplier recovered the full unpaid balance from Marvin alone.
Marjorie signed a multi-year lab lease for a nonexistent corporation. Zenith Pharma later sued after the lease payments stopped. Marjorie alone satisfied the entire remaining obligation because she knew no entity existed at signing.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Two hunters fired simultaneously toward a shared target area. One pellet struck the plaintiff in the eye. The plaintiff collected the full judgment from either defendant because both shots were negligent causes of the indivisible injury.
Multiple manufacturers produced identical DES tablets under a common formula. The plaintiff's mother ingested the drug without brand identification. The plaintiff recovered the entire damages from any joined manufacturer holding a substantial market share.
A vehicle rollover involved both a design defect and driver negligence. The jury could not apportion the indivisible injuries. The plaintiff obtained the full award from the manufacturer alone under the governing joint liability rule.
Several DES manufacturers were joined under a market share theory. The plaintiff sought to hold each defendant for the entire judgment. The court limited recovery to each defendant's proportionate market share rather than allowing full collection from any single party.
No. Joint liability arises whenever multiple parties contribute to an indivisible harm or obligation, even if their conduct is independent or sequential.
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Yes. The defining feature of joint liability is that any one responsible party may be required to satisfy the entire obligation or judgment.
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No. A settlement with one party discharges only that party's share unless the release expressly provides otherwise. The remaining parties stay liable for the balance.
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No. A party subject to joint and several liability need not be joined because the plaintiff can obtain full relief from any other jointly liable defendant.
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…the judgment against both defendants may stand. It is argued by defendants that they are not joint tort feasors, and thus jointly and severally liable, as they were not acting in concert, and that there is not sufficient evidence to show which defendant was guilty of the negligence which caused the injuries—the shooting by Tice or that by…