Joint and several liability of defendants in tort actions, allocation of responsibility for judgment
When multiple people are sued for causing harm, how much each one has to pay depends on their share of the blame. If someone is found to be 51% or more at fault, that person can be made to pay the full judgment amount, even the parts that other defendants owe. If someone is less than 51% at fault, that person only pays their own share — unless the other person was their employee or a special federal law applies. For extra punishment-type damages (called punitive damages), each defendant only pays their own share, no matter how much fault they have. Also, no one is allowed to tell the jury how this rule affects the case.
537.067. of s in actions, of responsibility for — defendants several for . — 1. In all tort actions for , if a defendant is found to bear fifty-one percent or more of , then such defendant shall be for the amount of the judgment rendered against the defendants. If a defendant is found to bear less than fifty-one percent of fault, then the defendant shall only be responsible for the percentage of the judgment for which the defendant is determined to be responsible by the ; except that, a is responsible for the fault of another defendant or for payment of the of another defendant if any of the following applies:
(1) The other defendant was acting as an employee of the party;
(2) The party's liability for the fault of another person arises out of a duty created by the , 45 U.S.C. Section 51.
2. The defendants shall only be for the percentage of punitive damages for which fault is attributed to such defendant by the trier of fact.
3. In all tort actions, no party may disclose to the trier of fact the impact of this section.
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Source & history notes
(L. 1987 H.B. 700 § 41, A.L. 2005 H.B. 393) Applicability of statute changes to cases filed after August 28, 2005, 538.305 (2001) Joint and several liability applies to Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission; application of statute would not require the public payment of a private debt or the unconstitutional diversion of appropriated highway funds. Smith v. Coffey, 37 S.W.3d 797 (Mo.banc.).
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Legal information, not legal advice. Always confirm with the official source at revisor.mo.gov.