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Phantom Parties And Other Practical Problems With The Attempted Abolition Of Joint And Several Liability, Nancy C. Marcus

Nancy C Marcus

In recent years, the allocation of responsibility to multiple tortfeasors and corresponding limitations on joint and several liability have been mired with uncertainty and change. This article describes the various forms of tort reform legislation limiting joint and several liability, explaining that some states limit joint and several liability according to the proportionality of the plaintiff's comparative fault, explaining that there is no clear majority approach to joint and several liability legislation and its interpretation by the courts, that a number of states have resisted the trend toward modifying joint and several liability, and that no state has enacted legislation …