MARGARITA CARRASQUERO, APPELLANT,
v.
ETHAN'S AUTO EXPRESS, INC., AND ABEL DIAZ, APPELLEES
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In this negligence case arising from a vehicle accident, the trial court granted a directed verdict for Ethan's Auto Express, Inc., finding it was not the beneficial owner of the vehicle despite holding record title, and therefore not liable under the dangerous instrumentality doctrine. The appellate court affirmed, holding that beneficial ownership, not mere record title, determines liability.
A corporation holding record title to a vehicle is not liable under the dangerous instrumentality doctrine when it is not the beneficial owner and has no possession, maintenance, or control over the vehicle. Liability requires beneficial ownership, not merely technical record title.
[1] A record title holder is not liable under the dangerous instrumentality doctrine for a vehicle's negligent operation if the record title holder is not the beneficial owne…
[2] A company is not liable for the negligent operation of a vehicle if it only holds title as a tax-delaying convenience for the individual who purchased, paid for, and excl…
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“as a matter of law and notwithstanding that it was the record title holder, it was not the beneficial owner of the truck involved in the subject accident and thus was not liable for its negligent operation”
Establishes the core holding that record title alone is insufficient for liability; beneficial ownership is required.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAbel Diaz, an employee of Ethan's Auto Express, purchased a truck for $4,000 from Randall Auto Finance using his own funds. Diaz possessed, maintained…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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SCHWARTZ, Senior Judge.
After the jury had concluded otherwise, the trial court granted a reserved motion for directed verdict in favor of the defendant Ethan’s Auto Express, Inc.,1 on the ground that, as a matter of law and notwithstanding that it was the record title holder, it was not the beneficial owner of the truck involved in the subject accident and thus was not liable for its negligent operation. We agree with the trial court.
The undisputed facts were that the co-defendant driver Abel Diaz, who worked for Ethan’s, bought the car for his individual use from Randall Auto Finance, Inc., paid the entire $4000 purchase price, and possessed, maintained and controlled the use of the vehicle himself. On the other hand, the owners of Ethan’s did not even or ever so much as see the truck, and agreed to take title in its name only as a tax-delaying2 convenience to Diaz. Under these circumstances, Ethan’s had no liability under the dangerous instrumentality doctrine. Wummer v. Lowary, 441 So. 2d 1151 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983), review denied, 451 So. 2d 849 (Fla.1984); Morgan v. Collier County Motors, Inc., 193 So. 2d 35 (Fla. 2d DCA 1966); see Palm Beach Auto Brokers, Inc. v. DeCarlo, 620 So. 2d 250 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993); Ferran Eng’g Group, Inc. v. Reid, 600 So. 2d 1307 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992); Cooney v. Jacksonville Transp. Auth., 530 So. 2d 421 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); Cox Motor Co. v. Faber, 113 So. 2d 771 (Fla. 1st DCA 1959).
Affirmed.
. We have long commended this practice as efficiently avoiding the necessity of a new trial regardless of the appellate result. See Leon v. Fox, 791 So. 2d 1188 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001); Mabrey v. Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc., 438 So. 2d 937 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983); Ditlow v. Kaplan, 181 So. 2d 226 (Fla. 3d DCA 1965).
. Since both Ethan’s and Randall were dealers, the payment of the tax due the State on the sale of the truck could be delayed by thirty days from the date of the sale. See § 319.23(6)-(7)(a), Fla. Stat. (2006); Fla. Admin. Code R. 12A-1.007(l)(a), (8)(c). Diaz’s wife was expecting a child when the purchase actually took place and he needed financially to postpone the payment.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Christensen v. Bowen, 140 So. 3d 498 (Fla. 2014)…shable. See Wummer v. Lowary, 441 So. 2d 1151, 1151-52 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983) (applying beneficial ownership exception where employer refinanced the vehicle for employee and held title as refinancer); see also Carrasquero v. Ethan’s Auto Express, Inc., 949 So. 2d 223, 224 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006) (applying beneficial ownership exception where titleholder “agreed to take title in its name only as a tax-delaying convenience to [the beneficial owner].”) (footnote omitted); Plattenburg v. Dykes, 798 So. 2d 915, 916 (Fla.…
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Carrasquero v. Mapfre Ins. Co. OF Fla., 106 So. 3d 989 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013)…SCHWARTZ, Senior Judge. The holding in Carrasquero v. Ethan’s Auto Express, Inc., 949 So. 2d 223 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006), that Ethan’s was not the owner of the vehicle involved in the instant accident compels, as the trial court correctly held in dismissing the complaint, the concomitant conclusion that it and its driver, the actual owner, were not…
Authorities Cited (11 total)
- Rochelle Ditlow and her husband v. Kaplan, 181 So. 2d 226 (Fla. 3d DCA 1965)
- Mabrey v. Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc., 438 So. 2d 937 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)
- Morgan v. Collier Cnty. Motors, Inc., 193 So. 2d 35 (Fla. 2d DCA 1966)
- Pearce v. Pearce, 113 So. 2d 771 (Fla. 2d DCA 1959)
- COX Motor Co. v. Faber, 113 So. 2d 771 (Fla. 1st DCA 1959)
- Iva Wummer v. Lowary, 441 So. 2d 1151 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)
- Cooney v. Jacksonville Transp. Auth., 530 So. 2d 421 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)
- Ferran Eng'g Grp., Inc. v. Reid, 600 So. 2d 1307 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992)
- Lemont v. State, 620 So. 2d 250 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993)
- Palm Beach Auto Brokers, Inc. v. DeCARLO, 620 So. 2d 250 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993)