Civ. Code, § 1431 · Chapter 2. Joint or Several Obligations
Civ. Code, § 1431
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
Joint Liability
An obligation imposed upon several persons, or a right created in favor of several persons, is presumed to be joint, and not several, except as provided in Section 1431.2, and except in the special cases mentioned in the title on the interpretation of contracts. This presumption, in the case of a right, can be overcome only by express words to the contrary.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended June 3, 1986, by initiative Proposition 51, Sec. 2. Note: Prop. 51 (the Fair Responsibility Act of 1986) includes Sections 1431.1 to 1431.5 and part of this section.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV§ionNum=1431.
- Text hash
- sha256 237206edc17c1375558c97e078ccff5132f652105c6ae8e5cbfcfb594c1eafd1
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Cited by 3 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Civ. Code, § 1431. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.