What does joint and several liability mean in tort law?

• A. All negligent parties are liable for the full amount, allowing the plaintiff to collect the entire judgment from any single defendant.
• B. Each liable party is responsible only for its own share.
• C. Liability is limited to the contractual remedies only.
• D. Only the first defendant is liable; others are exempt.

Answer: (A)

Joint and several liability means that when multiple defendants contribute to the same harm, the plaintiff can recover the full amount of damages from any one of them. That defendant can then seek contribution from the other liable parties for their respective shares. This protects the plaintiff if some defendants are insolvent or hard to collect from. It differs from several liability, where each party is only responsible for their own portion of damages. The other options describe different concepts (limited to contractual remedies, or liability only for the first defendant) and do not fit how joint and several liability works.