What is joint and several liability?

Joint and several liability is a legal concept which holds multiple parties involved in an accident financially responsible for the damages that may have been inflicted. In the state of New Jersey, the concept of joint and several liability applies to both negligence lawsuits and contract cases. Under the concept of joint and several liability, any party involved in an accident can be held responsible for the entirety of the damages even if they may not be directly responsible. This means that a minor defendant or even a non-negligent party may be held liable for the full amount of damages. In order to determine liability, the court will evaluate the negligence of each party. This is known as comparative negligence. The court will consider how much of the fault lied with each party and how much of the damages should be awarded to each of them. For example, if two people are involved in a car accident and one of them is determined to be 80% at fault, the court would hold them liable for 80% of the damages and the other party would only be liable for the remaining 20%. However, if the court finds one party to be completely liable for the damages, the other party would not be liable and the party found to be completely at fault would be held liable for the full amount of damages. In conclusion, joint and several liability is a legal concept which holds multiple parties financially responsible for the damages caused by an accident. In the state of New Jersey, it applies to both negligence lawsuits and contract cases. This means that a minor defendant or non-negligent party may be held liable for the full amount of damages under certain circumstances.

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