Legal Definitions - joint defendant

A joint defendant is a person who is being sued or charged in a legal case along with two or more other defendants. If the joint defendant is found to have conspired with the other defendants to commit a wrongful act, they may be held jointly liable for damages. This means that they would be responsible for paying a portion of the damages based on their degree of fault.

For example, if three people are sued for causing a car accident and it is found that they were all equally responsible, each joint defendant would be responsible for paying one-third of the damages. However, if it is found that one of the joint defendants was more responsible than the others, they may be required to pay a larger portion of the damages.

It is important to note that joint defendants have a right to seek contribution from their fellow defendants. This means that if one joint defendant pays more than their fair share of the damages, they can seek reimbursement from the other defendants.