Alpha Corp recently suffered two losses.First, as a result of the carelessness of its financial adviser, Jewel, it lost $100 000 when it invested in worthless shares.Second, in a separate incident, it lost $50 000 when its lawyer, Maia, failed to file a certain document at the land registry office on time.Both Jewel and Maia are liable to Alpha for the tort of negligence.The doctrine of joint and several liability always applies if two or more tortfeasors are liable to the plaintiff.Alpha is entitled to claim $150 000 from Jewel, and Jewel would then be entitled to claim $50 000 in contribution from Maia.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The doctrine of joint and several liability allows a plaintiff to claim the full amount of damages from any one of the tortfeasors, but it does not automatically entitle Alpha to claim the full $150,000 from Jewel alone. Each tortfeasor is liable for their own contribution to the loss, and the claim against each would typically be for their respective losses ($100,000 from Jewel and $50,000 from Maia), unless specific circumstances dictate otherwise.

Alpha Corp Recently Suffered Two Losses