severally » severely

Chiefly in:   jointly and severely

Classification: English

Spotted in the wild:

  • A member who elects to terminate its membership or is cancelled by a group remains jointly and severely liable for workers’ compensation obligations of the group and its members which were incurred during the cancelled or terminated member’s period of membership. (Connecticut General Statues, Jan. 1, 1997)
  • Pertinent to this appeal, the court then found Carrier and Yellow Freight jointly and severely liable for the damage sustained by the unit. (Supreme Court of Iowa ruling, Feb. 14, 2001)
  • The PSA Executive shall be jointly and severely responsible for approving all activities sponsored and co-sponsored by the PSA, including all events involving the raising or spending of PSA funds. (University of Calgary Political Science Association Constitution)

The legal expression jointly and severally is defined here.

A Google search on jointly and severely [sic] yields further examples in which this eggcorn has been enshrined in case law.

| link | entered by Ben Zimmer, 2005/02/16 |

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