North Dakota's rule: barred at 50%, not before
Under NDCC § 32-03.2-02, contributory fault does not bar recovery in an action to recover damages for death or injury to person or property unless the fault was as great as the combined fault of all other persons who contribute to the injury. Damages are reduced in proportion to the claimant's own degree of fault — but once that fault reaches 50%, recovery is barred entirely.
Compared against everyone combined, not just one defendant
North Dakota's rule compares the claimant's fault against the combined fault of everyone else involved. This means a plaintiff who is 50% at fault cannot recover even from two separate defendants who are each individually less than 50% at fault, if their shares add up to 50% or more together.
A genuinely distinctive rule for two-party car accidents
North Dakota layers something unusual on top of the general rule specifically for motor vehicle accidents. Under NDCC § 32-03.2-02.1, in a two-party motor vehicle accident where one person is more than 50% at fault, that person is responsible for all of the property damage, not merely their proportional share. This is a genuinely different allocation mechanism from the general bodily injury comparative fault rule, and it applies specifically to this two-party auto accident scenario.
Worked example
Someone with $100,000 in damages, found 40% at fault, recovers $60,000. That same person, found exactly 50% at fault instead, recovers nothing at all — North Dakota's rule bars recovery once fault reaches, not just exceeds, the halfway mark.
Modified joint and several liability
North Dakota generally applies a modified form of joint and several liability tied to its comparative fault statute — a separate structural feature from the specific two-party auto accident property damage rule described above.