Contribution among tortfeasors

Common Elements summary — Section 768.31 (the Uniform Contribution Among Tortfeasors Act) lets a defendant who has paid more than its proportionate share of a joint tort judgment seek contribution from co-tortfeasors. The right to contribution is established as a matter of substantive law and can be enforced either as a counterclaim in the original suit or as a separate action after payment. For HOA and COA boards this is the statutory basis for impleading vendors, contractors, and management companies into a tort claim. When a slip-and-fall lawsuit lands on the association, the association's first move is typically to bring in the landscaping vendor, the elevator company, the pool service — whoever else shares fault — under 768.31. The pre-Tiger Woods view that contribution was disfavored has been replaced by Florida's comparative-fault regime (see 768.81), but 768.31 still controls when comparative fault doesn't apply (intentional torts, certain insurer-subrogation contexts). Board liability shifts substantially when the association's contribution claim is pleaded crisply and early.