Joint and several liability is the legal term that describes when two or more people are being held liable for the same crime, act, or event. While it is possible for one party to have a stronger liability for the act, either because of their roll, or influence in the act, in joint and several liability multiple parties are held responsible. In a case that involves joint and several liability, the winning plaintiff can hold all parties responsible. Guilty parties can be held equally or proportionately responsible for their role of the guilty act.
Joint and several liability give plaintiffs the benefit of collecting payment from multiple parties thereby increasing the odds that they can reduce, alleviate, or eliminate the issue they were initially having. This way if one of the parties doesn’t have money or a means to pay back the plaintiff, there is possibility that another one of the guilty parties has the money to pay back the plaintiff.
Common Items or Instances of Joint Liability
Taking on Debt: Oftentimes, when a party decides to purchase a property or other asset, they will have two parties on the loan. This increases the odds that the borrower will be able to qualify for the loan, however it makes both parties, the borrower and the co borrower jointly liable for the debt. If the borrower defaults on the debt, both parties default on the debt, thereby affecting both parties credit.
Robbery: When there are multiple parties to a robbery both parties become liable for the robbery. If both are found guilty, there will be joint liability, however the liability depends on the exact crime they committed and the role they had in the robbery.
Business crime: A business that commits a crime and has multiple owners can hold multiple parties liable for the crimes committed. The prosecutor must prove that the business had the intent to commit a crime and willingly went along with the plan.
Various Types of Liabilities
Joint Liability
A party that has joint liability is liable for the full debt they owe the lender or creditor. Most mortgages or loans that have multiple parties attached to the loan have a clause that stipulates that both parties are jointly liable for the debts, that is to say both parties can be sued to recover for the owed debt.
When a loan has more than one borrower with strict liability and they default on the debt, the lender can bring forth a lawsuit only one time. If they get paid in the lawsuit and settle the debt, the lender cannot initiate another lawsuit because they can only get paid for the debt owed plus reasonable fees.
Several Liability
Several liability is when two or more parties are liable for debts, however only for the portion they owe. For example, assume two parties take on a line of credit for credit that has two partners and one takes out $25,000 and the other takes out $50,000, the lender can only sue each party for their portion of the debt and not the total amount.
