joint liability
Joint liability is a form of civil liability in which two or more defendants are collectively responsible for the entire amount of the plaintiff’s damages arising from their joint conduct. Although the plaintiff may recover damages only once, each defendant is obligated for the full amount and may later seek contribution from the others. Joint liability typically arises when defendants act together or when their combined conduct creates a single, indivisible harm.
Joint liability differs from joint and several liability. Under joint and several liability, the plaintiff may recover the full amount of damages from any one defendant, regardless of individual fault. Under pure joint liability, by contrast, all jointly liable defendants must be sued together because they are collectively liable only as a group.
[Last reviewed in November of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team]
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