A incites B to falsely imprison C. The court holds that A and B are jointly liable for the tort and awards C a compensation of Rs. 50,000/-. The court rules further that A is liable for forty per cent of the compensation amount, and B is liable for sixty per cent of the compensation amount. A refuses to pay the compensation, while B pays C Rs. 20,000/- - Which of the following statements least accurately applies the principles below ?

All India Bar Examination (AIBE) 3-III Previous Year Question Papers with Answers

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96.

A incites B to falsely imprison C. The court holds that A and B are jointly liable for the tort and awards C a compensation of Rs. 50,000/-. The court rules further that A is liable for forty per cent of the compensation amount, and B is liable for sixty per cent of the compensation amount. A refuses to pay the compensation, while B pays C Rs. 20,000/- - Which of the following statements least accurately applies the principles below ?

Principle :

When two defendant or more parties have joint liability, they are called joint tortfeasors, and each is individually liable to the plaintiff for up to the full amount of the loss. The plaintiff must usually show indivisibility of harm to obtain joint liability of the defendants. Importantly, the plaintiff cannot recover full damages more than once.

A: C can claim Rs. 30,000/- from A.

B: C can claim Rs. 20,000/- from A and Rs. 10,000/- more from B.

C: C can claim Rs. 30,000/- more from B.

D: C can claim Rs. 50,000/- from A.

E: C can claim Rs. 30,000/- more from A or B.

The answer is: D

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Explanation

The statement that least accurately applies the principles is D: C can claim Rs. 50,000/- from A.

Explanation:

According to the principle, when two or more parties have joint liability, they are called joint tortfeasors, and each is individually liable to the plaintiff for up to the full amount of the loss. The plaintiff must usually show indivisibility of harm to obtain joint liability of the defendants. Importantly, the plaintiff cannot recover full damages more than once.

In this case, A and B are joint tortfeasors, as they are jointly liable for the tort of falsely imprisoning C. The court awards C a compensation of Rs. 50,000/- and rules that A is liable for forty per cent of the compensation amount, and B is liable for sixty per cent of the compensation amount. This means that C can claim up to Rs. 50,000/- from either A or B, but not more than that. A refuses to pay the compensation, while B pays C Rs. 20,000/-. This means that C has already recovered part of the damages from B.

The statement that least accurately applies the principle is D: C can claim Rs. 50,000/- from A. This is wrong, as C cannot claim full damages from A after receiving part of the damages from B. C can only claim Rs. 30,000/- more from A, which is the balance amount of the compensation.

The other statements are more accurate in applying the principle. C can claim Rs. 30,000/- from A is correct, as this is the balance amount of the compensation that C can recover from A. C can claim Rs. 20,000/- from A and Rs. 10,000/- more from B is correct, as this is another way of recovering the balance amount of the compensation from both A and B. C can claim Rs. 30,000/- more from B is correct, as this is another way of recovering the full damages from B alone. C can claim Rs. 30,000/- more from A or B is correct, as this is another way of recovering the balance amount of the compensation from either A or B.