Short answer. Yes. Solidarity under Article 2194 governs how the injured party collects — it lets them recover the full amount from any one of you. It does not decide how the loss should be shared among the wrongdoers themselves. Having paid the entire judgment, you generally have a right to seek reimbursement from your co-defendants for their shares.
What the law says
The responsibility of two or more persons who are liable for quasi-delict is solidary.
Civil Code, Article 2194 — Solidary Liability for a Quasi-Delict. Read the full provision →
Solidary Toward the Victim, Not Necessarily Equal Among Yourselves
Article 2194 exists for the injured party's benefit. It means the victim was never required to sue all three of you together, apportion fault themselves, or chase each of you for a fraction of the judgment — any one of you could be made to answer for the whole amount. That convenience for the victim is a separate question from how the three of you, as among yourselves, should have divided the burden. That internal division is a question the law leaves for a later reckoning between the wrongdoers, not one the victim ever needs to sort out.
The Right of Reimbursement
Civil law's general rule on solidary obligations gives the debtor who pays more than his share a claim against his co-debtors for their portions, with legal interest running from the date of payment. Having satisfied the entire judgment, you step into a position to demand contribution from the other two for what they should have paid, even though the original judgment did not itself divide the amount between you.
How the Shares Get Determined
Where the co-defendants' relative fault is clear from the facts of the case — one person far more reckless than the others, for instance — courts have looked to that degree of participation to apportion the internal shares. Where the record does not clearly separate the parties' fault, an equal division among the solidary debtors is the more common starting point. A co-debtor who refuses to pay a demanded share can be sued for contribution directly, and the claim generally must be brought within the ordinary prescriptive period for a written obligation.
This Doesn't Reopen the Original Case
Seeking contribution from your co-defendants is a separate action or claim from the quasi-delict suit the victim already won. It does not affect what the victim recovered, does not require the victim's involvement, and does not reduce the amount you were required to pay upfront. It also does not require proving the case from scratch a second time — the earlier judgment already established that a quasi-delict occurred and what the total damage was; what remains is dividing that established figure among the people responsible for causing it.
Related provisions
- Civil Code, Article 2194 — Solidary Liability for a Quasi-Delict
- Civil Code, Article 1217 — Payment by a Solidary Debtor; Reimbursement
- Civil Code, Article 2180 — Vicarious Liability