§ 8.01-443.Joint wrongdoers; effect of judgment against one.

Injuries caused by more than one wrongdoer create a practical problem: does going after one tortfeasor use up the plaintiff’s only shot at recovery? Section 8.01-443 says no. A judgment against one of several joint wrongdoers does not bar prosecuting an action against any or all the others. The injured party can bring separate suits against each wrongdoer and take each to judgment, or, if he sues them jointly, proceed to judgment against them one after another until every defendant has either had judgment entered against him or had the claim otherwise disposed of.

No judgment against one defendant, standing alone, bars recovery from another — that bar only arises once a judgment has been satisfied. What ends the matter for everyone is full satisfaction: once the plaintiff accepts full satisfaction of a judgment against one or more joint wrongdoers, that satisfaction discharges all the joint wrongdoers, though they remain liable for costs.

The section is careful to preserve a separate right that operates among the wrongdoers themselves. Nothing here affects contribution between joint wrongdoers under § 8.01-34 — the discharge runs in the plaintiff’s favor, not in favor of one wrongdoer against another who may still owe him a share of what he paid.