Missouri Laws 537.067 – Joint and several liability of defendants in tort actions, allocation of ..
1. In all tort actions for damages, if a defendant is found to bear fifty-one percent or more of fault, then such defendant shall be jointly and severally liable for the amount of the judgment rendered against the defendants. If a defendant is found to bear less than fifty-one percent of fault, then the defendant shall only be responsible for the percentage of the judgment for which the defendant is determined to be responsible by the trier of fact; except that, a party is responsible for the fault of another defendant or for payment of the proportionate share of another defendant if any of the following applies:
(1) The other defendant was acting as an employee of the party;
Terms Used In Missouri Laws 537.067
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of the statutes, mean the section next preceding or next following that in which the reference is made, unless some other section is expressly designated in the reference. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
(2) The party’s liability for the fault of another person arises out of a duty created by the federal Employers’ Liability Act, 45 U.S.C. § 51.
2. The defendants shall only be severally liable for the percentage of punitive damages for which fault is attributed to such defendant by the trier of fact.
3. In all tort actions, no party may disclose to the trier of fact the impact of this section.