You Had Just The Right Amount Of Coverage - - In This Situation . . .
larry1950 said:
What is the name of your state?california what is the liability of a registered owner of a vehicle. Afriend was driving and got in an accident, he and I are being sued for 475,000, dollars. I wasn't even there
My response:
You are the owner of a vehicle, permissibly loaned to your friend. By statute, the owner of a motor vehicle is vicariously liable for death or injury to person or property resulting from the wrongful (negligent or intentional) operation of the vehicle by any person using it with the owner's express or implied permission. [Ca Vehicle § 17150]
The statute is an outgrowth of the overriding public policy interest in protecting innocent third parties from injury at the hands of careless drivers: "[T]his protection should be paramount to the rights of an owner who has permitted the use of his car by others even though he, personally, was not guilty of negligence." [Burgess v. Cahill (1945) 26 Cal.2d 320, 323, 158 P.2d 393, 394]
Like the doctrine of respondeat superior, the "permissive use" statute imputes liability without regard to the owner's culpability. Since the vehicle owner's liability is not "based on principles of comparative fault" (Ca Civil § 1431.2(a)), Proposition 51 does not limit the owner's noneconomic damages liability when that liability rests solely on the permissive use statute. [Rashtian v. BRAC-BH, Inc. (1992) 9 Cal.App.4th 1847, 1854, 12 Cal.Rptr.2d 411, 416]
For purposes of permissive use liability, owner and driver are treated as a single tortfeasor: "Whatever noneconomic damages are properly charged to the operator are likewise the burden of the owner." [Rashtian v. BRAC-BH, Inc., supra, 9 Cal.App.4th at 1854, 12 Cal.Rptr.2d at 416; see also Galvis v. Petito (1993) 13 Cal.App.4th 551, 16 Cal.Rptr.2d 560, 568; and Miller v. Stouffer (1992) 9 Cal.App.4th 70, 11 Cal.Rptr.2d 454]
However, Ca Vehicle § 17150 does not create "true" vicarious liability . . . because the statute also puts a dollar cap on the owner's exposure: Permissive use liability cannot exceed $15,000 per injury, $30,000 per occurrence, and $5,000 for property damage; nor can the driver's punitive damages liability be imputed to the owner. [Ca Vehicle § 17151; see Ca Vehicle § 17155--total $30,000 settlement limits]
IAAL