CAROLE DEEMER, DONALD DEEMER, HER HUSBAND AND BETH DEEMER, THEIR DAUGHTER, APPELLANTS,
v.
BUDGET RENT-A-CAR SYSTEMS, INC., A FOREIGN CORP., APPELLEE
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Appellants injured in a Florida automobile accident challenged a summary judgment applying Texas law to vicarious liability claims against Budget Rent-A-Car. The court affirmed, holding that under the significant relationships test, Texas law applies because the rental transaction, vehicle registration, and return destination were all in Texas despite the accident occurring in Florida.
Texas law applies to the vicarious liability issue. The court affirmed the summary judgment, finding that under the significant relationships test, the rental transaction, vehicle registration and licensing, and return destination in Texas constitute the most significant contacts, outweighing the fact that the injury and conduct causing injury occurred in Florida.
[1] Under the significant relationships test, the place of the rental transaction can be a determinative factor in choosing the applicable law for vicarious liability.
[2] When determining the applicable law for vicarious liability, courts may consider the state where the rental agreement was made and is to be performed.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“[unquestionably, the most important contact with respect to Hospitality's vicarious liability to this Florida passenger is the significant relationship the state of Florida has to this rental transaction involving one of Hospitality's automobiles, as the following facts show: The rental transaction took place in Florida between Florida residents pursuant to a rental agreement made and to be performed in Florida; Hospitality rented a vehicle which it owned, registered, and licensed in Florida and insured by a policy in compliance with Florida law; the rental agreement stipulated that the vehicle was to be returned to Hospitality in Florida”
Establishes the Stallworth test for determining significant relationships in vicarious liability cases involving rental transactions and identifies key contacts with the jurisdiction
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellants, Texas residents, were injured in a single-vehicle accident in Madison County, Florida while returning to Texas. They had rented a van in T…
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[*134] PER CURIAM.
In this appeal from a final summary judgment, appellant challenges the trial court’s ruling that under the significant relationships test, Texas law rather than Florida law applies with regard to the issue of vicarious liability.
Appellants, plaintiffs below, are residents of Texas. They were injured in a single automobile accident in Madison County, Florida, in a van that had been rented in Texas, was registered and licensed in Texas, and was to be returned to Texas. The accident occurred on the return trip to Texas following a seminar held in Florida. Appel-lee, Budget, is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Illinois.
In Stallworth v. Hospitality Rentals, Inc., 515 So. 2d 413 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987), in determining the most significant relationship regarding the issue of vicarious liability was with Florida, the court noted that “[ojbviously, the first two contacts, where the injury occurred and where the conduct causing the injury occurred,” were in Louisiana, but:
[unquestionably, the most important contact with respect to Hospitality’s vicarious liability to this Florida passenger is the significant relationship the state of Florida has to this rental transaction involving one of Hospitality’s automobiles, as the following facts show: The rental transaction took place in Florida between Florida residents pursuant to a rental agreement made and to be performed in Florida; Hospitality rented a vehicle which it owned, registered, and licensed in Florida and insured by a policy in compliance with Florida law; the rental agreement stipulated that the vehicle was to be returned to Hospitality in Florida; it was contemplated that the rented vehicle was to transport the authorized driver, ... and his passenger, ... to New Orleans and back, a trip which required the car to pass through the states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
The court was unwilling to hold “that each time the rented car crossed the several state lines on the contemplated trip, the legal rule governing Hospitality’s vicarious liability to Florida occupants of the ear would change in accordance with the local law of the state the automobile happened to be in at that particular moment.”
In this case, the pertinent issue is also vicarious liability and the applicability of the dangerous instrumentality doctrine. While the injuries and the conduct causing the injuries occurred in Florida, the rental transaction took place in Texas; Budget rented a vehicle registered and licensed in Texas; and the vehicle was to be returned to Texas. The facts with regard to the rental agreement in the instant case are virtually the same as of those in Stallworth, except in relation to Texas rather than to Florida. We are unable to distinguish this case from Stall-worth, and therefore affirm.
BOOTH, JOANOS and WOLF, JJ., concur.
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Sierra v. A Betterway Rent-A-Car, Inc., 863 So. 2d 358 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003)…we reverse the order dismissing the fourth amended complaint, and remand for reinstatement thereof. Reversed and remanded. . The order on appeal does not address the other defendants involved in the lawsuit. . Deemer v. Budget Rent-A-Car Systems, 704 So. 2d 133 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997) applied Stall-worth and concluded that the law of the State where the rental transaction takes place applies to determine vicarious liability.…
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Brown v. Nat'l CAR Rental Sys., Inc., 707 So. 2d 394 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)…v. Avis Rent-A-Car Sys., 348 So. 2d 1149 (Fla.1977). Furthermore, relying on the above stated analy [*397] sis, we find nothing incongruous in our decision today and those eases cited by National, including Deemer v. Budget Rent-A-Car Systems, Inc., 704 So. 2d 133 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)3 and Stallworth.4 Deemer applied Texas law to an accident involving a Texas car injuring Texas residents. Stallworth applied Florida law where the accident involved a Florida driver and a Florida car and the injured passenger was…
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Hinton v. Benson, 898 So. 2d 967 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005)…those applicable provisions of the motor vehicle financial responsibility laws of the state in which the vehicle is operated.” Finally, as in Sierra, to the extent that this opinion may be in conflict with Deemer v. Budget Rentr-A-Car Systems, Inc., 704 So. 2d 133 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997), we certify conflict. Reversed.…
Authorities Cited
- Stallworth v. Hospitality Rentals, Inc., 515 So. 2d 413 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987)