[Download] "Maryetta Cunningham v. Columbus Mcnair Et Al." by Supreme Court of New York # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Maryetta Cunningham v. Columbus Mcnair Et Al.
- Author : Supreme Court of New York
- Release Date : January 10, 1975
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 70 KB
Description
[48 A.D.2d 546 Page 547] Plaintiff, a New York resident, was a passenger in an automobile owned by a New York resident and driven by another New York resident on a trip which began in New York and was due to terminate in New York. While driving through Maryland on April 10, 1971, the New York vehicle was involved in an accident with a vehicle owned by defendant Avis Rent-A-Car, Inc. (hereinafter Avis), which was registered in Virginia, and was leased from Avis in Maryland by a resident of Mississippi. Defendant Avis, after the commencement of the instant action, moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and cross complaint against it on the ground that neither Maryland nor Virginia law gives rise to a cause of action sounding in vicarious liability. Special Term in denying this motion applied New York law (Vehicle and Traffic Law, ? 388) rather than Maryland law. The critical issue is thus, whether under the circumstances of this case, New York law rather than the law of the situs of the accident, applies. In Virginia and Maryland, the law is to the effect that the mere ownership of a motor vehicle does not render the owner liable for an accident which occurs while the vehicle is being operated by another person, unless the owner is present or where the driver is acting as the owner's agent, servant or employee (Taylor v Wesley Freeman, Inc., 186 Md 474 ; Lumbermens Mut. Cas. Co. v Indemnity Ins. Co. of North Amer., 186 Va 204 ). New York, however, imposes vicarious liability on an owner for the misdeeds of his vehicle's driver (Vehicle and Traffic Law, ? 388).