Overview
Historically, municipal proposals to address rising insurance premiums have focused on the joint and several liability (JSL) rule in the Negligence Act.
Under this rule, negligent defendants are responsible for the shortfall in damages of other negligent defendants who are uninsured or insolvent. Municipalities have asserted that this rule causes them to be added to tort claims as “deep-pocket” defendants and that the extra costs are factored into their insurance premiums.
