Also known as: joint and severally liable · jointly and severally liable · joint and several liability · joint and several · joint liability · 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, so the obligee may recover the full sum from any one of them without first pursuing the others.
Jacob Jennings joined an existing podcast partnership after the equipment financing contract had already been signed. When the supplier sued for the unpaid balance, the court held Jacob and the original partners jointly and severally liable because the supplier had relied on Jacob's name appearing in all branding materials. Jacob must pay the entire remaining balance even though he joined after the debt was first incurred.
Jerome Jackson signed a multi-year lab lease on behalf of a pharmaceutical company before filing articles of incorporation. After the company was later formed, the landlord sued both Jerome and the new entity for unpaid rent. Because Jerome knew no corporation existed when he signed, he and any other pre-incorporation actors are jointly and severally liable for the full lease obligation.
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Judy Jacobs was injured when her vehicle rolled over after a tire tread separation. She sued both the tire manufacturer and the vehicle designer. The court treated the defendants as joint tortfeasors subject to joint and several liability, allowing Judy to collect the entire damages award from either party.
Jonathan Jaffe developed cancer after his mother took DES during pregnancy. He could not identify the specific manufacturer of the drug his mother ingested. The court imposed joint and several liability on all manufacturers that supplied the drug in the relevant market, allowing Jonathan to recover his full damages from any one of them.
Jorge Juarez suffered severe injuries in a car accident involving both a defective vehicle design and driver negligence. The jury apportioned fault between the manufacturer and the driver. Because the defendants remained jointly and severally liable, Jorge could still collect the entire judgment from the manufacturer alone.
Jacobs Shipping extended credit to a borrower based on financial statements that a bank had helped prepare. When the borrower defaulted, Jacobs Shipping sued the bank for aiding the borrower's fraud. The court held that the securities statute does not impose joint and several liability on secondary actors who merely aid and abet without committing a primary violation themselves.
It permits the plaintiff to recover the entire judgment from any one of the liable parties. The plaintiff need not sue or collect from every defendant.
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A newly admitted partner is not personally liable for pre-admission obligations. Later participation in negotiations does not shift the debt's origin to the new partner's tenure.
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All persons who purport to act for a corporation knowing it has not yet been formed are jointly and severally liable for obligations created while so acting.
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A tortfeasor who pays more than its pro rata share may seek contribution from the others. The right exists even if judgment has not been recovered against every 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…