Sec. 1. 14 MRSA §222 is enacted to read:

§222.__Liability among defendants

1.__Joint and several liability.__In an action involving more than one defendant when 2 or more defendants as part of a common enterprise or plan act in concert and cause harm, the liability of each defendant for all damages is joint and several.

2.__Several, not joint liability.__In any action involving more than one defendant not governed by subsection 1, the liability of each defendant is several only and is not joint.__ Each defendant is liable only for the amount of damages allocated to that defendant in direct proportion to that defendant's percentage of negligence, and a separate judgment must be rendered against that defendant for that amount.

3.__Application. This section does not affect joint and several liability that is explicitly established elsewhere by statute.

SUMMARY

This bill modifies joint and several liability among defendants. If 2 or more defendants act in concert to cause harm as part of a common enterprise or plan, their liability for the harm is joint and several. In all other cases, liability is several, not joint. This change in the law does not apply to joint and several liability that is explicitly established elsewhere by statute.