SYLVIA MCCLOUD AND MYRON MCCLOUD, HER HUSBAND, APPELLANTS,
v.
OTIS J. WRIGHT, WINTER PARK LEASING, INC. AND MAJOR RENT-A-CAR, APPELLEES
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The court held that the lessee's contractual obligations do not negate the lessor's liability under the dangerous instrumentality doctrine, and the specific statute cited by the trial court was inapplicable.
[1] A lease agreement for a motor vehicle for a term not exceeding six months does not fall under the purview of section 324.021(9)(b), Florida Statutes.
[2] A lessee's contractual obligations to provide insurance, maintenance, and registration for a leased vehicle do not constitute indicia of beneficial ownership for the purp…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellants appealed a summary judgment granted to the lessor of a vehicle. The trial court based its decision on a specific statute regarding owner li…
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DELL, Judge.
Sylvia and Myron McCloud appeal from a summary judgment entered in favor of appellee, Winter Park Leasing, Inc., the own er/lessor of a motor vehicle leased for a term not to exceed six months. The trial court entered summary judgment based upon section 324.021(9)(b), Florida Statutes (1989). We reverse.
The vehicle was leased for less than one year. Thus, section 324.021(9)(b) does not apply. The parties direct their argument to the question of beneficial ownership and rely upon Kraemer v. G.M.A.C., 556 So. 2d 431 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989). In that case, the district court reasoned that G.M.A.C. was not vicariously liable under the dangerous instrumentality doctrine because:
Here, GMAC maintained none of the indicia of beneficial ownership. The long-term lessee was free to use the vehicle in any way he chose, consistent with protecting the long-term lessor’s financial interest should the lessee elect not to exercise his option to purchase.
Kraemer, 556 So. 2d at 434.
At bar, we note that the trial court, when it entered its order granting summary final judgment, did not have the benefit of the supreme court’s decision in Kraemer v. General Motors Acceptance Corp., 572 So. 2d 1363 (Fla.1990). The supreme court quashed the district court’s decision and held that the lessee’s contractual obligation to provide insurance, maintenance and registration of a vehicle were “duties rather than rights of beneficial ownership.” Id. at 1366. The court also stated that the manner in which the parties structured a transaction for tax purposes did not warrant the creation of a wholesale exemption to a dangerous instrumentality doctrine for long-term lessors. Therefore, the statutory designation of the owner, as provided in section 324.021(9)(a), does not change the owner’s liability under the dangerous instrumentality doctrine. Accordingly, we reverse the trial court’s entry of final summary judgment in favor of appellee and remand this case for further proceedings.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
ANSTEAD and FARMER, JJ., concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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Trevisol v. Ford Motor Credit Co., 583 So. 2d 703 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)…), Florida Statutes (Supp.1986), absolves long-term lessors of liability under the dangerous instrumentality doctrine. We reverse on the authority of Kraemer v. General Motors Acceptance Corp., 572 So. 2d 1363 (Fla.1990). See also McCloud v. Wright, 579 So. 2d 298 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991). This is the same result we reached in Powis v. Ford Motor Credit Co., 575 So. 2d 735 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991), a separate case arising out of the same accident. We note that section 324.021(9)(b) does not relieve Ford of liability…
Authorities Cited
- Kraemer v. Gen. Motors Acceptance Corp., 572 So. 2d 1363 (Fla. 1990)
- Kraemer v. Gen. Motors Acceptance Corp., 556 So. 2d 431 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989)