Proportionate liability – this legal term could have two different meanings:

– It is used in the area of Tort Law. In some legal systems the proportional liability entitles a defendant of claim for damages, to be liable only for these damages he has caused with his participation in the tort (i.e. not to the extension of the whole amount of pursued damages). It applies in lawsuits where more than one party’s negligence is found to have caused property damage, personal injuries or fatalities. A synonym is “several liability”. An antonym is “join liability”, stating that if parties have joint liability, then they are each liable up to the full amount of the relevant obligation or Tort.

– within the Commercial Law, the proportionate liability refers to establishing a partnership, where each shareholder or partner holds concrete limited liability towards third parties who participate in the business activities, performed by the partnership entity.

See also: http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/joint_and_several_liability