JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY

I was recently asked by a client to explain joint and several liability in Georiga. Basically, it's a legal doctrine which apportions liability between two or more defendants. Currently, in Georgia, you can collect the entire judgment against one, or all, of the defendants.

For example, let's say you were injured in a car wreck, while a passenger in A's car, when it entered an intersection and was impacted by a car driven by B. Both A and B claim they entered the intersection on a green light, a lawsuit is filed, and liability is assessed 50/50 against both drivers. You obtain a verdict in the amount of $50,000.00. Under joint and several liability, you have the right to collect the entire amount from A or B, and they can then try to collect their share (in this case 50%) back from the other driver.

Joint and several liability is more favorable to the plaintiff, because it gives the plaintiff the option to collect from any defendant able to pay the judgment.