Two defendants, A and B, negligently caused harm to a plaintiff through separate actions that combined to create an indivisible injury. Both defendants are being sued, but B declares bankruptcy and cannot pay their share of the damages. How is responsibility for paying damages most likely assigned under the doctrine of joint and several liability?
The plaintiff can recover damages in proportion to each defendant's share of fault but cannot pursue A for B's share.
The plaintiff is unable to recover damages if one defendant cannot pay their share.
The plaintiff is expected to proportionally split the recovery between A and B, and if B cannot pay, the plaintiff bears the shortfall.
The plaintiff can recover the full amount of damages from A, who can then seek contribution from B for B’s share of the damages.
Under the doctrine of joint and several liability, when multiple defendants combine to cause an indivisible injury to a plaintiff, each defendant is independently liable for the full extent of the plaintiff's damages. This allows the plaintiff to recover the full amount from any one defendant, even if another cannot pay their share (e.g., due to bankruptcy). The paying defendant can then seek contribution from the other defendant for their proportional share. Incorrect answers fail to acknowledge the plaintiff’s ability to recover the entire judgment from a solvent defendant and misinterpret how liability is shared.
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