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Simple English definitions for legal terms

joint and several liability

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A quick definition of joint and several liability:

Joint and several liability means that when two or more people do something wrong and someone gets hurt, each person is responsible for all the harm caused. This means that the person who was hurt can ask any of the wrongdoers to pay for all the damages. Then, the person who paid can ask the other wrongdoers to help pay. This is used in cases where it's hard to figure out who caused the harm, like when someone gets sick from being around asbestos. It helps the person who was hurt because they can still get money even if one of the wrongdoers can't pay. But sometimes it's not fair because someone who didn't do much wrong might have to pay a lot of money because the other wrongdoers can't pay.

A more thorough explanation:

Definition: Joint and several liability is a legal concept where two or more parties are held responsible for a harmful act, and each party is independently liable for the full extent of the injuries caused by the act. This means that if a plaintiff wins a money judgment against the parties collectively, the plaintiff may collect the full value of the judgment from any one of them, who may then seek contribution from the other wrong-doers.

Example: Suppose that A, B, and C negligently injure V. V successfully sues A, B, and C, for $1,000,000. If the court used a joint and several liability system, V could demand that A pay V the full $1,000,000. A could then demand contribution from B and C. However, if B or C could not pay, A would be stuck paying the full $1,000,000.

Explanation: This example illustrates how joint and several liability works in practice. In this case, all three parties are held responsible for the harm caused to V, and any one of them can be made to pay the full amount of damages awarded by the court. This system reduces the risk for the plaintiff that one or more defendants are judgment-proof by shifting that risk onto the other defendants. However, it can also cause inequities, particularly where a relatively blameless defendant is forced to bear the financial burden of an incredibly guilty co-defendant's insolvency.

Other Varieties: There are other types of joint and several liability, such as market share liability and the doctrine of alternative liability. Market share liability is invoked when a good causes an injury, and there are multiple manufacturers of the good. The manufacturers will be held proportionately liable in accordance with their market share in the market of the good. The doctrine of alternative liability applies when it is impossible to tell which tortfeasor caused the plaintiff's injuries. Two independent tortfeasors may each be held liable for the full extent of the plaintiff's injuries, and the burden of proof will shift to the defendants to either absolve themselves of liability or apportion the damages between themselves.

joint and several | joint criminal enterprise

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[] AromaticTroubledDormouse
20:56
CONGRATS MACAQUE!
TY
got a random stanford email and almost had a heart attack
ALSO CONGRATS!
Congrats1!
21:15
Miami A, yall I'm so excited I could cry.
21:15
Feel like I can finally stop holding my breath!! Whew!!!
[] baddestbunny
22:16
every time I get accosted by a strange man who follows me around because my male coworkers were too busy talking to walk me back to my car I get closer to saying we need to bring back traditional gender roles
Dkk
22:32
Nice! @Macaque
Dkk
22:32
@Aromatic, Have to guess.
Dkk
22:33
That sucks @Bunny do you have to go to the hospital?
[] baddestbunny
22:40
I said accosted not assaulted
23:35
guys. my notre dame address just went long is this good or bad
1a2b3c4d26z
23:37
Oooooo me too
23:37
omg is this good or bad
Dkk
23:47
Idk if gender roles are gunna fix that then.
23:49
it looks like most people who applied in october last cycle didn't get a decision until january... does it even mean anything that our addresses went long??
hows ED 2 compared to ED 1?
Dkk
0:10
No idea
windyMagician
0:34
reporting live to say my ndls address also went long
does it mean anything ^
Dkk
2:21
NDLS and Fordham took a very long time last year. It's good info for people to know.
[] baddestbunny
4:29
let’s get after it boys and girls
Dkk
5:21
I gtg to bed soon.
Dkk
5:22
Big day today. Gunna be a crazy one. I will sleep through the first half.
good morning lsd it is 5 am EST
also jazzy my ndls address went long ages ago i sadly do not think it means anything
my stanford address also went long LOL i think at most it's an indicator it's under review
WorthlessAttractiveZombie
7:44
My berkeley paragraph finally disappeared. I definitely think it is just an indicator that they are actively reviewing files, and does not mean anything about A, WL, or Rs
WorthlessAttractiveZombie
7:46
Also has anyone's date disappeared for W&L? Mine did last night
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