Joint and Several Liability (Solidarhaftung)
Joint and several liability exists when several persons are each individually liable to the injured party for the entire loss, allowing the injured party to claim full compensation from any one of them.
Concept
Joint and several liability exists when several persons are jointly liable for the same loss, and the injured party may choose to claim full compensation from any one of them, without needing to know or prove the respective shares of the individual tortfeasors amongst themselves. Joint and several liability protects the injured party, as they do not bear the risk of insolvency of one co-tortfeasor or evidentiary difficulties in apportioning shares.
Recourse Between Co-Debtors
If one jointly liable debtor has fully compensated the injured party, they are entitled to a recourse claim against the other co-tortfeasors, the amount of which depends on the respective degree of fault and other circumstances in the internal relationship between the tortfeasors. This internal apportionment must be strictly distinguished from external liability towards the injured party.
Relevance for Liability Insurance
Joint and several liability regularly arises in losses caused by the combined actions of several parties (e.g. multiple contractors involved in a construction project). For liability insurers, correctly handling recourse claims among several jointly liable debtors and their respective insurers is an important part of claims handling.