Joint tortfeasers
Persons jointly liable for a breach of tort law. Joint tortfeasors will be liable for breach of tort law under the doctrine of concurrent liability. There are four different types of concurrent liability, but only two create circumstances where there will be joint tortfeasors. These are:
- Joint enterprise: where two people commit a tortious breach together in pursuance of a common purpose
e.g. two people trying to fix a water pipe cause it to burst and damage nearby property. - Multiple torts causing same damage: where two or more people commit separate tortious breaches contributing to a single, indivisible harm to a third person
e.g. one person parks their car where it blocks traffic, another person fails to brake, and a third person is injured in the resulting crash.
In cases involving joint tortfeasors where there has been property damage or economic loss, proportionate liability will determine how much each tortfeasor is liable for, according to what is just and equitable.