If you have sued multiple defendants, the court may hold them jointly and severally liable. Have you ever wondered the meaning behind this legal jargon?

In a nutshell, the legal principle of joint and several liability ensures you get the compensation you deserve. Imagine you have received a favorable judgment, but you are unable to execute it since one of the defendants is not able to pay you. This would not be fair to you, right?

Thanks to the principle of joint and several liability, you can pursue compensation from any defendant who has the means to pay you. You don’t have to worry about the degree and extent of each of the defendant’s liability. Your main concern would be ensuring you receive the amount of money the court awarded you as compensation.

In this blog, we will explain in-depth the meaning of joint and several liability. We will discuss exactly how you can use this principle to get the compensation you deserve.

Suing Multiple Defendants

The term ‘joint and several liability’ will only arise in instances when you have sued multiple defendants. You can never come across this term in court if you have sued just one defendant.

There are numerous instances in which you can sue multiple defendants. For example, you may be involved in an accident and think two or more parties should be held liable for it. Or, you may have been a victim of medical malpractice, and you believe two or more parties in the hospital are responsible.

The best way to know whether you can sue multiple defendants is to consult a personal injury attorney. Your attorney will help you identify the liable parties in your case and the manner and extent of their liability.

It is important to name all the defendants in your personal injury lawsuit. If you fail to do so, you may be faced with an 'empty chair' defense. Additionally, naming all the defendants in your lawsuit makes it easy for you to prove your case. Your personal injury attorney will help you ensure you do not miss out on naming any defendants when filing your lawsuit.

The Plaintiff’s Responsibility when Suing Multiple Defendants

In California personal injury cases, the burden of proof is on the plaintiff, and the standard of proof is on a balance of probabilities. If you sue multiple defendants, the court will require you to prove how each contributed to your injuries to the standard of a balance of probabilities.

If the court finds that all the defendants you have sued are liable, you will be able to execute your judgment against all of them. However, in some cases, the court may find some defendants you've sued not liable for your injuries. You will not be able to execute against such defendants.

When proving your case, you must adduce evidence showing how each defendant was liable. Your attorney can help you do this.

Only when the court has held multiple defendants liable can you proceed to recover your damages from them. This is now when you will apply the principle of joint and several liability. 

What is Joint and Several Liability?

The legal principle of joint and several liability has been around for a very long time. This principle ensures you get the compensation you deserve, even if it may be impossible to recover the money from certain defendants.

For instance, imagine you were seriously injured in a bus accident. You sued both the bus driver and his employer. You win your case, and the court awards you $100,000 as damages. However, you know the bus driver cannot afford to pay you this amount. The best bet would be his employer. The principle of joint and several liability will allow you to recover the $100,000 solely from the bus driver's employer, even if he did not significantly contribute to the accident.

The principle of joint and several liability states that all defendants are liable in civil tort suits, regardless of their contribution to the damage or injury. As the plaintiff, you can pursue compensation from any of the defendants.

Why Adopt the Principle of Joint and Several Liability?

The principle of joint and several liability serves an important purpose; it ensures the plaintiff receives compensation even if one of the defendants is judgment proof. Without the application of this principle in California personal injury cases, certain plaintiffs could miss out on compensation for their injuries simply because one or more defendants in their cases are judgment proof.

The term ‘judgment proof’ refers to a person with no assets. This person may be either bankrupt or uninsured. You cannot collect damages from such a person if he/she was a defendant in your lawsuit. In such a situation, thanks to the principle of joint and several liability, you can collect your damages from other defendants in your case who are not judgment proof.

Unfortunately, if all defendants in your case are judgment proof, it may be impossible for you to collect your damages. In such a situation, the principle of joint and several liability may not be helpful.

Is the Principle of Joint and Several Liability Unfair to Defendants?

As earlier explained, the principle of joint and several liability allows you to pursue compensation from any defendant, regardless of his/her contribution to the injury or damage. This ensures that you finally get the compensation you deserve.

However, this principle may seem unfair to some of the defendants. Just one of them can end up catering for your damages, while the rest walk away without paying for anything. This principle allows the defendants who have paid for your damages to pursue compensation from the rest of the defendants.

As the plaintiff, you don’t have to worry over who will pay your damages among the many defendants you have sued. You can pursue compensation from any of them. In turn, the defendants can seek recovery of the amount of money paid as compensation to you from each other.

Does the Degree and Extent of Liability of Each of the Defendants Matter?

No, the degree and extent of liability of each defendant do not matter when the court holds them jointly and severally liable. You can pursue compensation from either of the defendants, regardless of their degree and extent of liability.

This means that it does not matter exactly how each defendant contributed to your injuries. As long as the court holds that he/she is liable, you can pursue compensation from him/her.

You can sue multiple defendants for various reasons, and all of them would have contributed to your injuries in one way or the other. However, it should not be your concern to determine the degree and extent of their liability when pursuing compensation.

When the Court can Hold Parties Jointly and Severally Liable

According to California Personal Injury Laws, the court can hold parties jointly and severally liable only to the extent of your economic damages. Parties cannot be held jointly and severally liable for your non-economic damages.

This means that the principle of joint and several liability is only applicable as far as economic damages are concerned. You can only pursue compensation from any of the defendants regardless of the degree and extent of their liability for your economic damages only.

On the other hand, each defendant will be separately (severally) liable for your non-economic damages. This means that each of them will be liable as to the degree and extent of their contribution to your non-economic damages. Therefore, when pursuing payment for your non-economic damages, each defendant's degree and extent of liability matter. This is because the legal principle of joint and several liability only applies to economic damages, not non-economic damages.

What Are Economic Damages?

At this point, you may be wondering what economic damages are. Simply put, economic damages cover losses that can be quantified monetarily.

Once you've been injured, you will spend some money to restore your health and ensure your life returns to normal. You may also be required to spend some cash in the future treating and managing these injuries and restoring your living standards. Sometimes, you may have lost your job or your physical ability to earn due to the injuries. If you win your case, you will receive compensation for this money, and what you would have earned in the past and the future had you not been involved in the accident. This amount of money given to you as compensation for what you’ve spent is what is referred to as ‘economic damages.’

In most cases, economic damages cover the following:

  • Medical bills
  • Future medical expenses
  • Loss of income
  • Loss of earning capacity
  • Property damage
  • Rehabilitation costs

How Economic Damages are Proportioned between Parties

As stated earlier, the principle of joint and several liability allows you to pursue compensation from any defendants. Therefore, you don't have to worry over how the economic damages are to be proportioned among the defendants.

It is up to the defendants to determine how to proportion the amount of economic damages among themselves. You can pursue any of them to pay you, and they can claim against each other for the recovery of the money paid to you.

The Legal Principle of Contribution

As we’ve explained earlier in this article, the defendants can claim against each other for the recovery of the money paid to you as compensation. This is what is referred to as a ‘contributory claim.’

For example, let's say you sued two defendants and recovered economic damages from only one of them. The defendant who paid you can institute a contributory claim against the other defendant.

Simply put, the defendant who catered for your economic damages can institute a contributory lawsuit against those who didn’t. You will not be a party in such a lawsuit; your primary concern was only pursuing compensation. In such a lawsuit, it is up to the defendants to fight among themselves on the apportionment of damages.

Who will Determine the Degree and Extent of Liability in a Contributory Lawsuit?

Once the contributory lawsuit proceeds to trial, it is the 'trier of fact' that will determine the degree and extent of liability among the defendants. If it is a jury trial, the jury will determine the degree and extent of liability. On the other hand, if it is a bench trial, the judge will determine the degree and extent of liability.

Remember, you will not be a party to the contributory lawsuit. It is up to the defendants to prove to the ‘trier of fact’ the degree and extent of their liability.

Typically, the court will allocate to each defendant a percentage denoting their degree and extent of liability. This percentage will determine the amount of economic damages each defendant was liable to pay. Based on these percentages, the defendants can recover from each other any amount of money they paid you.

When the Court Cannot Hold Parties Jointly and Severally Liable

As explained earlier in this article, the court cannot hold parties jointly and severally liable for non-economic damages. This means you cannot pursue compensation for your non-economic damages from any of the defendants without determining their degree and extent of liability.

Each defendant will pay you a percentage of the money the court awarded you as non-economic damages based on his/her degree and extent of liability. This degree and extent of liability are denoted in percentages, which the court specifies. You cannot pursue compensation for your non-economic damages from just one defendant.

What are Non-economic Damages?

It is difficult to assign a monetary value to non-economic damages. Non-economic damages cover losses that cannot be quantified monetarily, such as:

  • Pain and suffering
  • Loss of life enjoyment
  • Loss of consortium
  • Inconvenience
  • Emotional distress
  • Disfigurement
  • Physical impairment

The judge or jury will determine the amount of non-economic damages you deserve as compensation. They will determine this amount based on the facts and circumstances of your case.

Capping of Non-economic Damages in California Personal Injury Cases

Unlike other states, California does not place a cap on the amount of money the court can award you as non-economic damages. You can be awarded any amount you deserve as compensation for your non-economic losses, provided you can fully justify their level and extent.

However, there is a cap of $250,000 in medical malpractice cases. Therefore, in a medical malpractice lawsuit, the court cannot award you non-economic damages worth over $250,000.

How to Collect your Non-economic Damages

As earlier stated, each defendant will be liable to pay your non-economic damages according to his/her percentage of the degree and extent of liability. You cannot collect your non-economic damages from just one defendant.

Without the help of an experienced personal injury attorney, it may be difficult to collect your non-economic damages. Some defendants may be adamant about paying you what you deserve as compensation. A personal injury attorney will help you pursue compensation from such defendants.

What Happens When One Defendant is Found 100% Liable for Your Injuries?

You may sue multiple defendants in some instances, but the court only finds one 100% liable for your injuries. In such situations, the principle of joint and several liability is not applicable.

If the court finds just one defendant liable, you will have to pursue compensation solely from him/her. Even if you had sued multiple defendants, you would have no legal basis for pursuing compensation against them.

What if you Partially Contributed to your Injuries?

Sometimes, you may be partially responsible for your injuries. In such cases, the court will proportion the amount of damages you require as compensation between you and the defendants, per the principle of contributory negligence.

For example, the court may hold that you are 20% liable for your injuries while the defendants are 80% liable. This means you can only recover 80% of the damages the court awarded you from the defendants. Still, the principle of joint and several liability will apply when collecting your damages.

The Principle of Joint and Several Liability in Intentional Torts

So far, we have only discussed the principle of joint and several liability in personal injury cases involving negligence. You may be wondering how this principle is applied in intentional tort cases.

Unlike negligence cases, the principle of joint and several liability in intentional tort cases applies to both economic and non-economic damages. In an intentional tort case, you can collect both your economic and non-economic damages from just one defendant. You do not have to consider each defendant's degree and extent of liability.

Find a Personal Injury Attorney Near Me

If you need any help filing your personal injury lawsuit or have questions regarding your case or the principle of joint and several liability in California, you can reach out to us at The Personal Injury Attorney Law Firm for a free consultation. We are here to help you get the best possible compensation. Call us today at 800-492-6718 for a free consultation.