QuestionMy daughter recently had a car titled in her name in the state of Missouri. She moved out of state, temporarily leaving the unregistered car in her apartment parking lot. She just received notice from an insurance company saying the car was involved in an accident that happened after she moved out of state. She inquired with the local police and found out from a police report that an aquantance of hers totalled the car in an accident with another motorist.
Is my daugher financially responsible for the damages caused by her car? She did not give permission to anyone to drive the car. The car was not yet registered. She obtained no insurance for the car, and the car had no license plates.
Answer
Dear Werner,
I wish I could give you a simple answer. But if that were the case, we lawyers would be out of a job <grin>.
It is impossible to answer your question given the lack of information, especially on the issue of how the friend of hers got the keys to her car. THAT is a crucial piece of missing information. Did he have any grounds to believe he had permission to use her car?
If someone moved away, but left you the keys to her car, would you not think you had permission to take it for at least some exercise just to keep it running?
Another thing you will want to ask her is just what the friend was doing with her car. Could his use of her car in any way be construed to have been for her benefit? It counts against your daughter if the friend was doing ANYTHING AT ALL that could be seen as in her benefit. Examples would be to exercise the car, to move it in accordance with the apartment rules, to run an errand for your daughter, etc.
Let's change the facts around and you can see that your daughter's liability will be non-existent if the car were stolen. Someone who takes the precautions your daughter did and who suffers a stolen car will not be liable should that car become involved in an accident.
Now, contrast that situation with variations of answers to my first two questions, and you can see that your daughter's liability moves from non-existent to actual liability if she had left the friend the impression he could drive her car, and/or if his use could be construed to have been for her benefit.
You will have to ask her when she last spoke with this "acquaintance". What have they said? Did she file a police report for a stolen vehicle? THAT ACTION ALONE WILL GO A LONG WAYS TO ABSOLVING HER OF LIABILITY. Even if the police tell her it is too late to do so, I would write out the stolen car letter and have it Sent Via Certified Mail.
I trust this information has been of value to you, and feel free to ask again should any additional facts come up.
Best Wishes,
Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
Http://www.SettlementCentral.Com
