Innocent owner of a vehicle caught up in a DUI case

[aarona115]

Hello,
I ran into the situation where a so called "friend" was driving my vehicle while under the influence, which led to him getting a DUI in my vehicle. The law enforcement impounded my plates which forces me to get new special registration plates no matter what, which is most likely going to mess with my insurance and job. I have already applied for administrative review and it got denied due to the violator not having a valid license at the time of the incident...which I had no knowledge of. I've finally taken this to district court in order to fight the initial review that was denied. Opened a case already, but they require me to provide proof of service that I will be fighting their initial ruling. I don't even know how to begin doing that. I've got about 8 more days to get this thing started or it might be too late. Hopefully someone can help me here.

 

[Just Blue]

Hello,
I ran into the situation where a so called "friend" was driving my vehicle while under the influence, which led to him getting a DUI in my vehicle. The law enforcement impounded my plates which forces me to get new special registration plates no matter what, which is most likely going to mess with my insurance and job. I have already applied for administrative review and it got denied due to the violator not having a valid license at the time of the incident...which I had no knowledge of. I've finally taken this to district court in order to fight the initial review that was denied. Opened a case already, but they require me to provide proof of service that I will be fighting their initial ruling. I don't even know how to begin doing that. I've got about 8 more days to get this thing started or it might be too late. Hopefully someone can help me here.

What state?

 

[zddoodah]

Same response as I gave on the other site where you posted this:

Unfortunately, AFAIK, no one here is from Minnesota, and I doubt anyone here will have any knowledge of the applicable local procedures and rules. You're going to need to retain the services of a local attorney.

Needless to say, don't ever loan your car to someone whose license status you haven't verified. Not only will this sort of thing happen, but it might negate your insurance coverage in the event of an accident.

 

[Ohiogal]

Hello,
I ran into the situation where a so called "friend" was driving my vehicle while under the influence, which led to him getting a DUI in my vehicle. The law enforcement impounded my plates which forces me to get new special registration plates no matter what, which is most likely going to mess with my insurance and job. I have already applied for administrative review and it got denied due to the violator not having a valid license at the time of the incident...which I had no knowledge of. I've finally taken this to district court in order to fight the initial review that was denied. Opened a case already, but they require me to provide proof of service that I will be fighting their initial ruling. I don't even know how to begin doing that. I've got about 8 more days to get this thing started or it might be too late. Hopefully someone can help me here.

The issue is you have negligent entrustment. You were responsible for confirming that the violator had a valid license prior to allowing them access to your vehicle.

 

[quincy]

Following is a link to information on “negligent entrustment” (see page 4) which was mentioned by Ohiogal. The link is for informational purposes only and is not meant to be an endorsement of the authors.

https://new.uslaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Minnesota_USLAW-Transportation-Compendium_2021.pdf

And here is a link to Minnesota Statute 169A.60, Administrative Impoundment of Plates:

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/169A.60

You didn’t mention whether your friend’s DUI resulted in any injuries or property damage. Your vehicle insurance will cover your vehicle, regardless of driver, if the driver had your permission to drive the vehicle. But you can expect to see an increase in your future insurance costs.

You will be best served by having an attorney in your area help you with the judicial review, especially if time is short.


(as an aside: This forum has a longtime member from Minnesota but he, like most forum members, is not an attorney)