Question

Farah and Jackie are involved in an auto accident which injures Barry. The jury finds that Farah was 70 percent at fault and Jackie was 30 percent at fault, and that Barry suffered $100,000 in damages. After Barry collects $40,000 from Jackie, Jackie sues Farah seeking contribution or indemnity, in a jurisdiction applying the traditional rules of joint and several liability.

How much may Jackie recover from Farah?
(A) $0
(B) $10,000
(C) $70,000
(D) $100,000

Answer 1

Jackie may recover $10,000 from Farah as a contribution for the overpaid amount in a car accident lawsuit, where Farah was found 70 percent at fault under the rules of joint and several liability.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question relates to the legal principles of joint and several liability in the context of a car accident involving Farah, Jackie, and Barry. Under the traditional rules of joint and several liability, when a jury finds multiple parties at fault and assigns specific percentages of fault to each one, any defendant can be held responsible for the full amount of damages. However, if one defendant pays more than their share, that defendant can seek contribution from the other at-fault parties based on their proportion of fault.

In this scenario, Jackie has already paid Barry $40,000. The jury found Farah 70 percent at fault and Jackie 30 percent at fault for Barry's $100,000 in damages. Thus, Farah is responsible for $70,000 of the damages. Since Jackie paid $40,000, they overpaid by $10,000 (30 percent of $100,000 is $30,000). Jackie can therefore seek contribution of this $10,000 from Farah. The correct answer to how much Jackie may recover from Farah is (B) $10,000.