Cengage Advantage Books: Law for Business 18th Edition by John Ashcroft ,Janet Ashcroft

Exercise 6

Former asbestos companies signed an agreement forming the Center for Claims Resolution (CCR) to administer and resolve asbestos-related claims. The agreement included a formula for calculating the share of liability payments of each member. The CCR negotiated a settlement agreement for nineteen member companies with the law firm of Kelley Ferraro, LLP, resolving 15,000 claims. The settlement was to be paid to Kelley in biannual installments. The agreement stated that "each CCR member shall be liable … only for its individual share." An installment was $1 million short because GAF Corp. disputed CCR's calculation of its share. Kelley sued, alleging the agreement was joint and several so that the other companies had to make up the full installment even if one company were to withhold its contribution. Was the agreement joint and several or merely several?