A jury has determined that Jason Pruitt,CPA,is 20% at fault for losses suffered by investors who relied on materially misstated financial statements.The jury found that Pruitt's co-defendants,the client company and the company's CEO,are each 40% at fault.The company is bankrupt,and only Pruitt and the CEO have adequate resources to pay damages.Under joint and several liability,what is the likely percentage of damages that Pruitt will pay?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Under joint and several liability, each defendant can be held responsible for the full amount of damages. However, if one defendant cannot pay their share, the other defendants may be responsible for that portion as well. In this case, since the company is bankrupt, Pruitt and the CEO are the only defendants with adequate resources to pay damages. Pruitt is 20% at fault, so he will be responsible for paying his proportionate share of damages, which is 20% of the total damages. Additionally, he will also be responsible for a proportionate share of the damages attributed to the company, which is 40%. Therefore, Pruitt will likely pay a total of 60% of the damages (20% + 40%).

A Jury Has Determined That Jason Pruitt,CPA,is 20% at Fault