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Joint and Several Liability

Liability of more than one person for which each person is liable to pay back the entire amount of a debt or damages.

Stripped of legalese, it means together or separately.

If three friends, A and B (two persons with few assets), and C, who is wealthy, borrow $10,000 from Z and agree to be joint and severally liable for the full amount, and they then default on the loan, Z can sue and collect the full amount against all three or against C only, not having to worry about collecting from A and B (that would then be C's problem in private actions for contribution from A and B).

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Unless otherwise noted, this article was written by Lloyd Duhaime, Barrister, Solicitor, Attorney and Lawyer (and Notary Public!). It is not intended to be legal advice and you would be foolhardy to rely on it in respect to any specific situation you or an acquaintance may be facing. In addition, the law changes rapidly and sometimes with little notice so from time to time, an article may not be up to date. Therefore, this is merely legal information designed to educate the reader. If you have a real situation, this information will serve as a good springboard to get legal advice from a lawyer.

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