“A Manhattan pedestrian, paralyzed in an accident caused by a driver of a rental car, has been awarded a $20 million judgment against Budget Rent-A-Car”. The driver of the car had run a red light and allegedly was driving with a suspended license; a lawyer for the victim, Ethan Ruby, said his client might not have recovered if not for New York’s uniquely harsh vicarious-liability law which puts firms that rent or lease cars on the hook for virtually all accidents caused by their customers. (Dareh Gregorian, “Car-Rent Firm Hit for $20M”, New York Post, Feb. 1). For more on the New York law, see Sept. 5, Apr. 25, and Apr. 4, 2004 and links from there.
Budget hit for $20M after NYC crash
“A Manhattan pedestrian, paralyzed in an accident caused by a driver of a rental car, has been awarded a $20 million judgment against Budget Rent-A-Car”. The driver of the car had run a red light and allegedly was driving with a suspended license; a lawyer for the victim, Ethan Ruby, said his client might not […]
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Vicarious Liability, Revisited
One of the effects of these laws has been to squeeze out smaller rental companies. According to the New York Sun, there were about 400 such companies three years ago; that number has dwindled to less than 50. Some say that the larger companies don’t …