Joint and several liability is the rule that each of several liable defendants can be required to pay the whole judgment, leaving the paying defendant to seek contribution from the others. It protects the plaintiff against an insolvent co-defendant.
Many jurisdictions have limited or abolished the rule in whole or in part, replacing it with proportionate liability. Where it survives, a solvent defendant can carry the share of one that cannot pay.
The rule changes collection risk. A judgment against several defendants under joint and several liability is better protected than one under proportionate liability, where each pays only its share.
Joint and several liability is not a finding that each defendant was equally at fault. It governs who can be made to pay.
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