CYNTHIA WEST, APPELLANT,
v.
ENTERPRISE LEASING COMPANY, A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEE
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This case addresses whether the federal Graves Amendment preempts Florida's vicarious liability statute that holds rental car companies responsible for negligent lessees. The court affirmed summary judgment for Enterprise Leasing Company, holding that the Graves Amendment preempts Florida's vicarious liability provision and is a valid exercise of congressional power under the Commerce Clause.
The Graves Amendment preempts Florida's vicarious liability statute because the statute imposes vicarious liability on rental car companies for their lessees' negligent acts, which is precisely what the Graves Amendment targets. The statute is not protected by the savings clause because it is not a law imposing financial responsibility or insurance standards. The Graves Amendment is constitutional as a proper exercise of congressional commerce power.
[1] The Graves Amendment preempts state laws imposing vicarious liability on rental car companies for the negligence of their lessees.
[2] A state law imposing vicarious liability on a rental car company for the negligent acts of its lessee is not a law imposing financial responsibility or insurance standard…
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Establishes that the Graves Amendment directly targets vicarious liability statutes like Florida's section 324.021(9)(b)(2).
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceCynthia West brought a negligence tort claim against Enterprise Leasing Company for damages caused by a person who leased a motor vehicle from Enterpr…
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PER CURIAM.
This case concerns the application of the Graves Amendment, 49 U.S.C. § 30106, a federal statutory provision designed to preempt state laws imposing vicarious liability on rental car companies. Based on the Graves Amendment, the trial court entered summary judgment in favor of the appellee, Enterprise Leasing Company, with respect to a tort claim brought by the appellant, Cynthia West, arising from the alleged negligence of the lessee of a motor vehicle owned by Enterprise. At issue here are (a) whether liability imposed pursuant to section 324.021(9)(b)(2), Florida Statutes (2006), with respect to vehicles rented or leased for less than one year is subject to preemption by the Graves Amendment and (b) whether adoption of the Graves Amendment was a proper exercise of congressional power under the Commerce Clause.
Recently, in Garcia v. Vanguard Car Rental USA, Inc., 540 F. 3d 1242 (11th Cir.2008), the Eleventh Circuit considered the same issues and concluded that the Graves Amendment preempts liability under section 324.021(9)(b)(2) and that the adoption of the Graves Amendment was a proper exercise of power under the Commerce Clause. We agree with these conclusions, and we adopt the thoughtful analysis employed by the Eleventh Circuit in Garcia. See also Karling v. Budget Rent A Car System, Inc., 33 Fla. L. Weekly D2777, — So. 3d —, 2008 WL 5100530 (Fla. 5th DCA Dec. 5, 2008); Vargas v. Enter. Leasing Co., 993 So. 2d 614 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008); Lucas v. Williams, 984 So. 2d 580 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008); Kumarsingh v. PV Holding Corp., 983 So. 2d 599 (Fla. 3d DCA), review denied, 984 So. 2d 519 (Fla. 2008) (table); Bechina v. Enterprise Leasing Co., 972 So. 2d 925 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007).
In brief, with respect to the preemptive scope of the statute, we agree with Garcia that “[t]he Graves Amendment takes aim at precisely” lawsuits of the type contemplated by section 324.021(9)(b)(2) — that is, “those imposing [vicarious] liability against a rental car company for the negligent acts of its lessee.” Garcia, 540 F. 3d at 1246. We also agree that as a vicarious liability provision, section 324.021(9)(b)(2) is not a law “imposing financial responsibility or insurance standards” within the meaning of the savings clause of the Graves Amendment. 49 U.S.C. § 30106(b)(1). As explained in Garcia, “Congress used the term ‘financial responsibility law’ to denote state laws which impose insurance-like requirements on owners or operators of motor vehicles, but permit them to carry, in lieu of liability insurance per se, its financial equivalent, such as a bond or self-insurance.” 540 F. 3d at 1246.
With respect to the constitutionality of the Graves Amendment, we agree with Garcia that “the commerce power includes ... the ability to facilitate interstate commerce by removing intrastate burdens and obstructions to it,” that “the Graves Amendment protects the rental car market by deregulating it, eliminating state-imposed laws and lawsuits Congress reasonably believed to be a burden on economic activity with substantial effects on commerce,” and that the Graves Amendment is therefore constitutional. Id. at 1252-53.
Accordingly, we reject West’s challenge to the applicability and constitutionality of the Graves Amendment and affirm the trial court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of Enterprise Leasing Company. As did the Fourth District in Vargas, we certify the following question as one of great public importance:
DOES THE GRAVES AMENDMENT, 49 U.S.C. § 30106, PREEMPT SECTION 324.021(9) (B) (2), FLORIDA STATUTES (2007)?
Affirmed; question certified.
STRINGER and SILBERMAN, JJ„ and CANADY, CHARLES T., Associate Judge, Concur.
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Karling v. Budget Rent A CAR Sys., Inc., 2 So. 3d 356 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009)…re, as one of great public importance: DOES THE GRAVES AMENDMENT, 49 U.S.C. § 30106, PREEMPT SECTION 324.021(9)(B)(2), FLORIDA STATUTES (2007)? This is the same question recently certified by the Second District in West v. Enterprise Leasing Co., 997 So. 2d 1196 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008), and by the Fourth District in Tocha v. Richardson, 995 So. 2d 1100 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008) and Vargas v. Enterprise Leasing Co., 993 So. 2d 614 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008). QUESTION CERTIFIED. ORFINGER and MONACO, JJ., concur.…
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Tamilia Fair v. Wilkishia D. Reese, 6 So. 3d 73 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009)…ertified by this court in Karling v. Budget Rent A Car System, 2 So. 3d 354 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008) and Francis v. Dollar Rent A Car Systems Inc., 2 So. 3d 356 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009); by the Second District Court of Appeal in West v. Enterpise Leasing Co., 997 So. 2d 1196 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008); and by the Fourth District in Tocha v. Richardson, 995 So. 2d 1100 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008) and Vargas v. Enterprise Leasing Co., 993 So. 2d 614 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008). QUESTION CERTIFIED. SAWAYA, ORFINGER and LAWSON, JJ., concur.…
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Joseph "Roy" Francis v. Dollar Rent A CAR Sys. Inc., 37 So. 3d 264 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009)…24.021(9) (B) (2), FLORIDA STATUTES (2007)? As this is the same question certified by this court in Karling v. Budget Rent A Car System, 2 So. 3d 354 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008); and by the Second District Court of Appeal in West v. Enterprise Leasing Co., 997 So. 2d 1196 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008), and by the Fourth District in Tocha v. Richardson, 995 So. 2d 1100 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008), and Vargas v. Enterprise Leasing Co., 993 So. 2d 614 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008), we grant the motion and certify the question to the Supreme Court o…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Garcia v. Vanguard CAR Rental USA, Inc., 540 F.3d 1242 (11th Cir. 2008)
- Vargas v. Enter. Leasing Co., 993 So. 2d 614 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008)
- Mathias v. Bryant, 984 So. 2d 519 (Fla. 2008)
- Deopersad Kumarsingh and Rosalie Kumarsingh v. PV Holding Corp. & Avis Rent A Car Sys., Inc., 983 So. 2d 599 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008)
- Lucas v. Norris E. Williams, 984 So. 2d 580 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008)
- Koslovsky Realty, Inc. v. Savitcheva, 972 So. 2d 925 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007)
- Bechina v. Enter. Leasing Co., 972 So. 2d 925 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007)