Under joint-n-severable liability, which statement is true?

Under joint-n-severable liability, which statement is true?

• A. The plaintiff may collect the full judgment from any defendant.
• B. Each defendant pays only their own share, regardless of judgment.
• C. A defendant who pays cannot seek reimbursement.
• D. The court must allocate fault among defendants before any payment.

Answer: (A)

Under joint and several liability, a plaintiff can recover the entire judgment from any one defendant who is liable. This means if multiple defendants are responsible for the same harm, the plaintiff doesn’t have to collect each defendant’s exact share; instead, the plaintiff can collect the full amount from one defendant and then that defendant can seek contribution from the others for their respective shares. This mechanism protects the plaintiff against insolvent or unrecoverable defendants, ensuring full recovery even if some defendants can’t pay. So the statement that the plaintiff may collect the full judgment from any defendant reflects how this liability structure works. The other ideas don’t fit because, under joint and several liability, defendants aren’t limited to paying only their own shares, and a paying defendant can pursue reimbursement from the others. The fault allocation can be determined at trial or after, but it doesn’t prevent a plaintiff from collecting the full amount from a solvent defendant initially.

Under joint and several liability, a plaintiff can recover the entire judgment from any one defendant who is liable. This means if multiple defendants are responsible for the same harm, the plaintiff doesn’t have to collect each defendant’s exact share; instead, the plaintiff can collect the full amount from one defendant and then that defendant can seek contribution from the others for their respective shares. This mechanism protects the plaintiff against insolvent or unrecoverable defendants, ensuring full recovery even if some defendants can’t pay.

So the statement that the plaintiff may collect the full judgment from any defendant reflects how this liability structure works. The other ideas don’t fit because, under joint and several liability, defendants aren’t limited to paying only their own shares, and a paying defendant can pursue reimbursement from the others. The fault allocation can be determined at trial or after, but it doesn’t prevent a plaintiff from collecting the full amount from a solvent defendant initially.