In 1993, Bill Murray starred in the film Groundhog Day, a comedy about a TV weatherman who becomes trapped in a time loop, forcing him to relive Groundhog Day over and over again. The movie became a common reference during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as people woke up, realized something was amiss, and then went on with a day that repeated the last. Ever since a two-judge Pennsylvania Superior Court panel issued its decision in Spencer v. Johnson, 249 A.3d 529 (Pa. Super Ct. 2021), Pennsylvania tort law has been caught in what seems to be a never-ending, “Groundhog Day” scenario regarding the scope of the Fair Share Act, 42 Pa.C.S. Section 7102.
The Fair Share Act
The doctrine of joint and several liability is a relic of the English common law dating back to the 17th century. See, e.g., Smithson v. Garth, 3 Lev. 324, 83 Eng. Rep. 711 (1691). Pursuant to the doctrine, when multiple tortfeasors cause an indivisible injury, each tortfeasor is liable for the full extent of the damages regardless of the percentage of liability assessed by the jury. The doctrine therefore allows the plaintiff to satisfy an entire judgment against any of the defendants—even when one defendant was responsible for only a small amount of the harm. That meant that a defendant found liable for 1% of the harm could be forced to pay 100% of the verdict. This anomaly incentivized plaintiffs to sue deep-pocket defendants to bankroll a much larger verdict than a jury might expect them to have to pay.
