Legal Definitions - joint defendant

A joint defendant refers to one of several individuals or entities who are sued together in the same legal case. When multiple parties are accused of contributing to the same harm or wrongful act, they may all be named as defendants in a single lawsuit. In such situations, if they are found responsible, their liability might be assessed individually based on their specific role, or they might share responsibility for the overall harm, especially if they acted together with a common purpose.

If one joint defendant ends up paying more than their assessed share of the damages, they typically have a legal right to seek reimbursement, known as "contribution," from the other defendants who were also found responsible.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of a joint defendant:

• Car Accident Involving Multiple Drivers: Imagine two drivers, Alex and Ben, are engaged in a street race. During the race, Alex swerves and clips a third, innocent driver, Carol, causing Carol's car to spin out and collide with Ben's vehicle. Carol suffers injuries and significant damage to her car. She decides to sue both Alex and Ben for her losses.

  In this scenario, Alex and Ben are joint defendants. Even though Alex initiated the first contact, Carol is suing both of them because their combined reckless actions (the street race) contributed to the single accident that caused her harm. A court would determine their individual percentages of fault, but they are sued together because their actions were intertwined in causing the incident.

• Corporate Fraud Scheme: A small investment firm's CEO, CFO, and Head of Compliance are all aware of and actively participate in a scheme to mislead investors about the true financial health of the company. They issue false reports and make deceptive presentations to attract new clients. When the fraud is uncovered, a group of defrauded investors files a lawsuit against all three executives.

  The CEO, CFO, and Head of Compliance are joint defendants in this case. They are being sued together because they allegedly conspired and acted in concert to commit the same fraudulent acts, causing a common harm to the investors. The court would assess their individual culpability, but they are collectively facing the same legal action for their shared involvement in the scheme.

• Defective Product Manufacturing: A consumer purchases a new smart home device that later malfunctions, causing a small electrical fire that damages their property. The consumer sues the device manufacturer, the company that designed the faulty circuit board within the device, and the retailer who sold the product, alleging that each party contributed to the defect or the consumer's harm.

  The device manufacturer, the circuit board designer, and the retailer are all named as joint defendants in the consumer's lawsuit. While each party had a distinct role in the product's journey to the consumer, the consumer claims their combined actions or omissions led to the single problem of the defective device and the resulting fire. The court would determine each party's degree of fault in causing the damage.