Joint or Several Obligations

Civil Code Division 3, Part 1, Title 2, Chapter 2 deals with joint or several obligations in California.

Section 1430 provides that an obligation imposed upon several persons, or a right created in favor of several persons, may be joint, several, or joint and several.

Section 1431 states that an obligation imposed upon several persons, or a right created in favor of several persons, is presumed to be joint, and not several, with exceptions. This presumption, in the case of a right, can be overcome only by express words to the contrary.

Section 1431.1 contains three findings and declarations by the People.

Section 1431.2 provides that, in any action for personal injury, property damage, or wrongful death, based upon principles of comparative fault, the liability of each defendant for non-economic damages is several only and is not to be joint.

Each defendant is liable only for the amount of non-economic damages allocated to that defendant in direct proportion to that defendant’s percentage of fault, and a separate judgment shall be rendered against that defendant for that amount. The terms “economic damages” and “non-economic damages” are defined.

Section 1432 provides that a party to a joint, or joint and several obligation, who satisfies more than his share of the claim against all, may require a proportionate contribution from all the parties joined with him.