The Uniform Comparative Fault Act (UCFA), and its periodic revisions, is one of the
Uniform Act
In the United States, a uniform act is a proposed state law drafted and approved by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC), also known as the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL).
Federalism in the United States traditi ...
s drafted by the
National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws
The Uniform Law Commission (ULC), also called the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, is a non-profit, American unincorporated association. Established in 1892, the ULC aims to provide U.S. states (plus the District of C ...
(NCCUSL) with the intention of harmonizing
state laws in force in the
states.
The UCFA seeks to establish an apportionment of
liability that is more flexible than the all-or-nothing approaches of the
contributory negligence
In some common law jurisdictions, contributory negligence is a defense to a tort claim based on negligence. If it is available, the defense completely bars plaintiffs from any recovery if they contribute to their own injury through their own negl ...
and last clear chance doctrines. Under the UCFA, the judgment against tortfeasors can be reduced according to any
negligence
Negligence (Lat. ''negligentia'') is a failure to exercise appropriate and/or ethical ruled care expected to be exercised amongst specified circumstances. The area of tort law known as ''negligence'' involves harm caused by failing to act as a ...
on behalf of the plaintiff, and multiple tortfeasors held
joint and several liability
Where two or more persons are liable in respect of the same liability, in most common law legal systems they may either be:
* jointly liable, or
* severally liable, or
* jointly and severally liable.
Joint liability
If parties have joint liabili ...
can seek contributions from their codefendants.
The UCFA has not been adopted by a large number of states, because many states prefer to modify joint and several liability among multiple tortfeasors. An attempt to address these shortcomings of the UCFA has been made with the
Uniform Apportionment of Tort Responsibility Act, promulgated in 2002.
[Henderson, p. 374]
References
{{reflist
External links
Text of the UCFA at the NCCUSLDiscussion of the UCFA and UATRA at the NCCUSL
Uniform Acts