§ 99.004.Joint and Several Liability

Joint and several liability, in the same form as the trafficking chapter's.

A person who manufactures methamphetamine and is found liable under this chapter or other law for any amount of damages arising from the manufacture is jointly liable with any other defendant for the entire amount.

Texas is otherwise a several liability state. The proportionate responsibility chapter makes each defendant answerable for its own percentage, with joint and several liability reserved for a defendant more than 50 percent responsible or engaged in specific-intent concerted felony conduct.

This section overrides that, and the following section disapplies the proportionate responsibility chapter altogether — so the override is stated twice.

The reason is the structure of these operations. Manufacturing is typically done by more than one person, none of whom is likely to be solvent, and apportioning percentages would leave a claimant collecting fractions from people who cannot pay.

"Under this chapter or other law" extends the joint liability to a manufacturer held liable on any theory for damages arising from the manufacture, not only to one held liable under this chapter.

The provision matters most where a property owner or landlord who permitted the activity is also a defendant. Each manufacturer answers for the whole, whatever the relative contributions.