E-Petition

The citizens of Queensland draw to the attention of the House, that under
the current law of Joint and Several Liability, if you have a number of
defendants and you can prove that one or more of them were at fault, you
can claim the entire amount owed to you from those defendants who are at
fault. If one defendant has paid your entire claim they can ask for a
contribution from the other defendants. Therefore, they would not
necessarily have to pay the entire amount of the judgment.

With the introduction of Proportionate Liability, it means that not only
do you have to sue everyone who could possibly be liable, but you must
also prove the extent to which they are liable. Victims are often not
aware of every party to a crime. Also, if a wrongdoer is in liquidation
then all the others will no doubt point the finger at them as being the
one most responsible in an attempt to reduce their individual liability.

Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to refuse to pass this
bill which will result in victims of crime being forced to embark on
litigation which will be more costly, time consuming and risky.