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6 Hous. L. Rev. 129 (1968-1969)
Negligent Entrustment of Automobiles

handle is hein.journals/hulr6 and id is 153 raw text is: JUBISCONSULTUS NEGLIGENT ENTRUSTMENT OF AUTOMOBILES JIM M. PERDU* Under the common-law doctrine of entrustment, an Owner may be liable for the negligent acts of one to whom lie lends his auto- mobile. Liability is imposed as a result of the owner's own negligence in lending the automobile. Mr. Perdue examines the two most common situations in which such liability arises: entrustment to unlicensed drivers and entnst- ment to incompetent drivers. He contends that the owner should only be under the duty to ascertain that the entrustee has a valid opera- tor's license. I. INTRODUCTION In the absence of some principle of agency or respondeat superior, an automobile owner is not normally liable for damages inflicted by someone to whom he has loaned his automobile.' Generally, if the owner loans his automobile to a friend to be used by that person for his own purposes, the owner may rest secure in the knowledge that he will not be responsible for any negligent acts committed by that person. It seems safe to say that owners of automobiles would not entrust their cars to others if they thought that by so doing they became insurers or guarantors of the actions of those persons. However, under the common-law doctrine of entrustment, an owner may be liable for any negligent acts of the person to whom he entrusts his auto- mobile.2 This responsibility may attach even though the entrustee (driver) was at the time of the accident on a purely personal mission and was not, or had not, performed any acts for the owner's benefit.3 The owner's liability * Partner, Miller, Gann & Perdue, Houston, Texas. 1. Where the family purpose doctrine is recognized there is another basis for imposing liability. Annots., 132 A.L.R. 981 (1941), 100 A.L.R. 1021 (1936), 88 A.L.R. 601 (1934), 64 A.L.R. 844 (1929). This doctrine has been epressly rejected in Texas and other jurisdic- tions. McMartin v. Saemisch, 254 Iowa 45, 116 N.W.2d 491 (1962); Martin v. Brown, 240 La. 674, 124 So. 2d 904 (1960); Jacobsen v. Dailey, 228 minn. 201, 36 N.r.2d 711 (1949); Pickard v. Morris, 91 NTH. 65, 13 A.2d 609 (1940); Cherwien v. Geiter, 272 N.Y. 165, 5 N.E,2d 185 (1936); Ross v. Burgan, 163 Ohio St. 211, 126 N.E.2d 592 (1955); Seinsheimer v. Burkhart, 132 Tex. 336, 122 S.W.2d 1063 (1939); Hackley v. Robey, 170 Va. 55, 195 S.E. 689 (1938). 2. Spratling v. Butler, 150 Tex. 369, 240 S.W.2d 1016 (1951). Generally, an automobile is not regarded as an inherently dangerous instrumentality. Koger v. Hollahan, 144 Ela. 779, 198 So. 685 (1940). Thus, an owner is generally not liable for its negligent use by another to whom it is entrusted. Liability under the entrust- ment doctrine arises when an owner permits operation by an incompetent, inexperienced, or reckless driver. Parker v. Wilson, 179 Ala. 361, 60 So. 150 (1912); CebuLak v. Lewis, 320 Mich. 710; 32 N.W.2d 21 (1948); Williamson v. Eclipse Motor Lines, 145 Ohio St. 467, 62 N.E2d 339 (1945); Gossett v. Van Egmond, 176 Ore. 134, 155 P.2d 304 (1945). 3. Liability may likewise attach even though the use made of the automobile goes beyond the scope of the owner's original consent. Department of Water & Power v. Anderson, 95 F.2d 577 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 305 U.S. 607 (1938); Kruutari v. Hageny, 75 F. Supp. 610 (W.D. Mich. 1948); Spurling v. Fillingim, 244 Ala. 172, 12 So. 2d 740 19681

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