Cal. COM § 3116
This is the official text of Cal. COM § 3116, part of California’s Commercial Code — california's version of the Uniform Commercial Code, governing sales, negotiable instruments, and secured transactions.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Official statutory text
(a) Except as otherwise provided in the instrument, two or more persons who have the same liability on an instrument as makers, drawers, acceptors, indorsers who indorse as joint payees, or anomalous indorsers are jointly and severally liable in the capacity in which they sign.
(b) Except as provided in subdivision (e) of Section 3419 or by agreement of the affected parties, a party having joint and several liability who pays the instrument is entitled to receive from any party having the same joint and several liability contribution in accordance with applicable law.
(c) Discharge of one party having joint and several liability by a person entitled to enforce the instrument does not affect the right under subdivision (b) of a party having the same joint and several liability to receive contribution from the party discharged.
(b) Except as provided in subdivision (e) of Section 3419 or by agreement of the affected parties, a party having joint and several liability who pays the instrument is entitled to receive from any party having the same joint and several liability contribution in accordance with applicable law.
(c) Discharge of one party having joint and several liability by a person entitled to enforce the instrument does not affect the right under subdivision (b) of a party having the same joint and several liability to receive contribution from the party discharged.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Dealing with a business matter in California?
See all California Business lawyers
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.