What is the name of your state? California
My wife bought her 24 year old son a quad and registered it in her name.
He was in an off road accident in which his passenger was injured and
incurred $40K in medical expenses.
The passenger's attorney brought two causes of action against my wife,
The first is Negligence, which under CA Vehicle Code section 17151 my
wife is going to be liable for $15K as the registered owner of a vehicle
involved in an accident but operated by someone other then herself.
The second is Negligent Entrustment. This one appears to be baseless.
Her son did not have a history of reckless driving either on road of off.
He had been riding off road vehicles since he was a young child and was
proficient at it.
The passenger's attorney seems set on going to trial (he's been practicing
for less than two years). If we do go to trial we're going to incur tens of
thousands of dollars in additional legal fees and still (hopefully) end up
owning only the $15K for Negligence.
Is there a way, short of going to trial, to get the Negligent Entrustment
COA dismissed if it's baseless? I want to avoid spending $30K extra to
lose $15K.
Thanks,
PS
My wife bought her 24 year old son a quad and registered it in her name.
He was in an off road accident in which his passenger was injured and
incurred $40K in medical expenses.
The passenger's attorney brought two causes of action against my wife,
The first is Negligence, which under CA Vehicle Code section 17151 my
wife is going to be liable for $15K as the registered owner of a vehicle
involved in an accident but operated by someone other then herself.
The second is Negligent Entrustment. This one appears to be baseless.
Her son did not have a history of reckless driving either on road of off.
He had been riding off road vehicles since he was a young child and was
proficient at it.
The passenger's attorney seems set on going to trial (he's been practicing
for less than two years). If we do go to trial we're going to incur tens of
thousands of dollars in additional legal fees and still (hopefully) end up
owning only the $15K for Negligence.
Is there a way, short of going to trial, to get the Negligent Entrustment
COA dismissed if it's baseless? I want to avoid spending $30K extra to
lose $15K.
Thanks,
PS