Under joint and several liability, a plaintiff may recover the full amount from any defendant.

Under joint and several liability, a plaintiff may recover the full amount from any defendant.

• A. False
• B. Only if the defendant is insolvent
• C. Only if the plaintiff is more than 50% at fault
• D. True

Answer: (D)

Under joint and several liability, when multiple defendants contribute to the same injury, the plaintiff may recover the entire judgment amount from any one of them. This guarantees full compensation to the plaintiff even if some defendants are unable or unwilling to pay. The defendant who pays the full amount can then seek contribution from the other defendants for their share of fault, typically proportional to each defendant’s degree of fault. Some jurisdictions have moved toward limiting liability to each defendant’s own share, but the traditional rule remains that the plaintiff may recover the full amount from a single defendant.

Under joint and several liability, when multiple defendants contribute to the same injury, the plaintiff may recover the entire judgment amount from any one of them. This guarantees full compensation to the plaintiff even if some defendants are unable or unwilling to pay. The defendant who pays the full amount can then seek contribution from the other defendants for their share of fault, typically proportional to each defendant’s degree of fault. Some jurisdictions have moved toward limiting liability to each defendant’s own share, but the traditional rule remains that the plaintiff may recover the full amount from a single defendant.