§ 33.013.Amount of Liability

Title 2. Trial, Judgment, and Appeal · Subtitle C. Judgments · Chapter 33. Proportionate Responsibility · Subchapter B. Contribution · Last amended 2021 · Last verified August 29, 2026

In one sentenceSection 33.013 makes each defendant liable only for its own percentage — with joint and several liability surviving only above 50 percent responsibility or for specific-intent concerted felony conduct.

Full Text of § 33.013

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f)

(a)Except as provided in Subsection (b), a liable defendant is liable to a claimant only for the percentage of the damages found by the trier of fact equal to that defendant's percentage of responsibility with respect to the personal injury, property damage, death, or other harm for which the damages are allowed.

(b)Notwithstanding Subsection (a), each liable defendant is, in addition to the defendant's liability under Subsection (a), jointly and severally liable for the damages recoverable by the claimant under Section 33.012 with respect to a cause of action if:

(1)the percentage of responsibility attributed to the defendant with respect to a cause of action is greater than 50 percent; or

(2)the defendant, with the specific intent to do harm to others, acted in concert with another person to engage in the conduct described in the following provisions of the Penal Code and in so doing proximately caused the damages legally recoverable by the claimant:

(A)Section 19.02 (murder);

(B)Section 19.03 (capital murder);

(C)Section 20.04 (aggravated kidnapping);

(D)Section 22.02 (aggravated assault);

(E)Section 22.011 (sexual assault);

(F)Section 22.021 (aggravated sexual assault);

(G)Section 22.04 (injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual);

(H)Section 32.21 (forgery);

(I)Section 32.43 (commercial bribery);

(J)Section 32.45 (misapplication of fiduciary property or property of financial institution);

(K)Section 32.46 (fraudulent securing of document execution);

(L)Section 32.47 (fraudulent destruction, removal, or concealment of writing);

(M)conduct described in Chapter 31 the punishment level for which is a felony of the third degree or higher; or

(N)Section 21.02 (continuous sexual abuse of young child or disabled individual).

(c)Repealed by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 204, Sec. 4.10(5).

(d)This section does not create a cause of action.

(e)Notwithstanding anything to the contrary stated in the provisions of the Penal Code listed in Subsection (b)(2), that subsection applies only if the claimant proves the defendant acted or failed to act with specific intent to do harm. A defendant acts with specific intent to do harm with respect to the nature of the defendant's conduct and the result of the person's conduct when it is the person's conscious effort or desire to engage in the conduct for the purpose of doing substantial harm to others.

(f)The jury may not be made aware through voir dire, introduction into evidence, instruction, or any other means that the conduct to which Subsection (b)(2) refers is defined by the Penal Code.

End

Plain-English Summary

The section that replaced joint and several liability with several liability, and preserved two exceptions.

The rule: a liable defendant is liable only for the percentage of the damages equal to that defendant's percentage of responsibility. A defendant found 20 percent responsible pays 20 percent, whatever happens to the others. If a co-defendant is insolvent, the claimant absorbs the shortfall.

The first exception is the mirror of the 51 percent bar. A defendant whose percentage is greater than 50 percent is jointly and severally liable for the whole recoverable award. The same number that bars a claimant makes a defendant answerable for everything.

The second exception is narrow and hard to prove. A defendant is jointly and severally liable if, with the specific intent to do harm to others, it acted in concert with another person to engage in conduct described in a listed set of Penal Code provisions — murder, capital murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual, forgery, commercial bribery, misapplication of fiduciary property, fraudulent securing of document execution, fraudulent destruction or concealment of a writing, third-degree-or-higher theft under Chapter 31, and continuous sexual abuse of a young child or disabled individual — and proximately caused the damages.

Subsection (e) defines the mental state strictly. The claimant must prove the defendant acted with specific intent to do harm, meaning it was the person's conscious effort or desire to engage in the conduct for the purpose of doing substantial harm to others. Ordinary intentional conduct does not reach it.

Subsection (f) keeps the Penal Code out of the courtroom. The jury may not be made aware, through voir dire, evidence, instruction, or any other means, that the conduct is defined by the Penal Code. The jury decides the conduct without being told it is describing a crime.

Subsection (d) confirms the section creates no cause of action — it allocates liability for claims that exist elsewhere.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Texas a joint and several liability state?

Only in two situations. A defendant is otherwise liable for its own percentage alone. Joint and several liability applies where a defendant is more than 50 percent responsible, or where it acted in concert with specific intent to do harm in conduct described by listed Penal Code sections.

What happens if one defendant cannot pay?

Under the general rule the claimant bears the shortfall, because each defendant pays only its own percentage.

What does "specific intent to do harm" require?

That it was the person's conscious effort or desire to engage in the conduct for the purpose of doing substantial harm to others. The claimant must prove it.

Does the jury hear that the conduct is a crime?

No. Subsection (f) bars making the jury aware by any means that the listed conduct is defined by the Penal Code.

Amendment History

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985. Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., 1st C.S., ch. 2, Sec. 2.09, eff. Sept. 2, 1987; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 136, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995;
Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 204, Sec. 4.07, 4.10(5), eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 593 (H.B. 8), Sec. 3.02, eff. September 1, 2007.
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 221 (H.B. 375), Sec. 2.02, eff. September 1, 2021.
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 837 (S.B. 109), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2021.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from Texas Legislature Online (statutes.capitol.texas.gov). Enacted by the Texas Legislature. Current through May 14, 2026. Last verified August 29, 2026. · Official source