One of the proposals for unlimited corporate liability is for _pro rata_ liability, where the shareholder is only liable for his share of the damages based on h

One of the proposals for unlimited corporate liability is for _pro rata_ liability, where the shareholder is only liable for his share of the damages based on how much stock he or she owns. If you bought $1,000 worth of stock, you might lose what you invested plus a few thousand on top of that, but not necessarily all your savings. It could still be a disaster for some people—what if the claims on the company are 100x the share price or 1,000x?—but it’s more workable than joint and several liability. Liability in general partnerships, for example, is joint and several. Even if you only own 1% of the business, but you are much wealthier than the other owners, the creditors will come after you for everything. There would also be some thought put into which shareholders would be liable, and perhaps someone who only held the stock for a few days would have less liability than someone who held it for years while the toxic waste was being dumped.