Hertz Corp. v. Jackson

• Citation: 617 So.2d 1051
• Decision Date: 01 April 1993
• Docket Number: No. 79251,79251
• Parties: 18 Fla. L. Weekly S196 The HERTZ CORPORATION, Petitioner, v. Billy JACKSON, etc., et al., Respondents.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Florida

Page 1051

617 So.2d 1051

18 Fla. L. Weekly S196

The HERTZ CORPORATION, Petitioner, v. Billy JACKSON, etc., et al., Respondents.

No. 79251.

Supreme Court of Florida.

April 1, 1993.

Rehearing Denied May 24, 1993.

Steven A. Edelstein, Law Offices of Roland Gomez, Miami, for petitioner.

Arnold R. Ginsberg, Perse, P.A. & Ginsberg, P.A., and Jay Rothlein, Miami, for respondents.

OVERTON, Justice.

We have for review Jackson v. Hertz Corp., 590 So.2d 929 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991), in which the district court, on rehearing en banc, found that Hertz Corporation (Hertz) was liable under the dangerous instrumentality doctrine for damages caused by the driver of a Hertz-owned rental vehicle even though the vehicle had been obtained by fraud and reported as stolen. The district court certified the following question to this Court:

[W]hether the liability of a car rental company under the dangerous instrumentality doctrine is affected by the facts that (a) the rental was secured by fraud, (b) the period for which the vehicle was rented was greatly exceeded and/or (c) the car rental company made efforts to recover the vehicle after it became aware of the fraud and that the vehicle was not timely returned.

Id. at 942 (on rehearing en banc). We have jurisdiction. Art. V, Sec. 3(b)(4), Fla. Const. For the reasons expressed, we answer the question in the affirmative, quash the district court's decision, and approve the trial court's decision.

The pertinent facts were set forth in the district court's opinion as follows:

On February 5, 1985, Hertz entered into a two-day rental agreement with a woman purporting to be Linda Major, and her companion, Lawrence King. The woman presented Hertz with a Visa credit card issued in Linda Major's name. Mr. King's driver's license number, the license expiration date, the issuing state, and King's age were entered on the additional authorized operator attachment of the rental agreement. Additionally, King's driver's license number and the license expiration date were entered on the front of the Hertz rental agreement. No separate driver's license information was written on the rental agreement for the woman identifying herself as Linda Major. Before relinquishing possession of the vehicle, Hertz ran a credit check on the Visa card presented. Upon receipt of a favorable credit check, Hertz released the vehicle to the above individuals.

Hertz was informed on February 17, 1985, by Metro-Dade Police that the Hertz-owned vehicle had been fraudulently leased with a stolen credit card and that the woman who gave her name as Linda Major was an impostor. Thereafter, on February 26, 1985, and March 1, 1985, respectively, Hertz sent certified letters ¹ to both renters demanding the return of the automobile. On March 31, 1985, both letters were returned to Hertz as undeliverable. On April 5, 1985, Hertz reported the vehicle as stolen to the police. Eleven days after the Hertz vehicle was reported stolen, the vehicle, operated by Christopher Harris, an alleged participant in the fraud, was involved in an accident, injuring Billy Jackson.

Jackson, 590 So.2d at 930-31.

Based on these facts, Jackson and his mother sued Hertz under a theory of negligent entrustment on the grounds that Hertz's employees rented the vehicle to a person who did not present a valid driver's license, who obtained the vehicle by fraud, and who negligently operated the vehicle thus causing the accident. At trial, the jury became deadlocked on the issue of liability, and the trial judge directed a verdict in favor of Hertz. Id. at 931. The district court, in its original panel decision, affirmed the trial court, concluding that Hertz: (a) did not negligently entrust the vehicle; (b) did not delay in attempting to regain possession of the vehicle; and (c) was relieved of responsibility because, even if the vehicle was originally voluntarily entrusted by Hertz, a species of conversion or theft had occurred so as to relieve Hertz of vicarious responsibility under these facts.

On rehearing en banc, the district court, in a split decision, reversed the panel decision. The majority found Hertz to be liable as a matter of law under Florida's dangerous instrumentality doctrine for the negligent operation of its vehicle and concluded that the Jacksons were entitled to a directed verdict on the issue of liability.

In rendering its decision, the district court noted that Florida's unique dangerous instrumentality doctrine "imposes strict, vicarious responsibility upon the owner or other possessor of a motor vehicle who voluntarily entrusts it to another for any subsequent negligent operation which injures a member of the travelling public." Id. at 937 (on rehearing en banc). Accordingly, the district court determined that the dangerous instrumentality doctrine applied in this case because Hertz had clearly consented to the use of its vehicle by another. The district court rejected Hertz's claim that, because the vehicle had been obtained through a species of conversion or theft, it was insulated from liability under the doctrine. Instead, the district court concluded that "liability both arises and is complete when the owner consents to the use of the vehicle 'beyond his [or her] own immediate control.' " Id. at 941 (quoting Susco Car Rental System v. Leonard, 112 So.2d 832, 835-36 (Fla.1959)). The district court acknowledged, however, that its decision may be in conflict with our recent decision in Stupak v. Winter Park Leasing, Inc., 585 So.2d 283 (Fla.1991).

It appears that Florida is the only jurisdiction that imposes, under the common law dangerous instrumentality doctrine, strict vicarious liability upon the owner of a motor vehicle who voluntarily entrusts it to another. Susco; Southern Cotton Oil Co. v. Anderson, 80 Fla. 441, 86 So. 629 (1920). Under this doctrine, an owner who gives authority to another to operate the owner's vehicle, by either express or implied consent, has a nondelegable obligation to ensure that the vehicle is operated properly. Susco; Thomas v. Atlantic Associates, Inc., 226 So.2d 100 (Fla.1969). However, limited exceptions to the strict liability imposed under the dangerous instrumentality doctrine have been recognized by this Court. For example, we have specifically held that: 1) one who leaves a vehicle with a repair service is not liable for injuries caused by the negligence of an employee of the repair service, Castillo v. Bickley, 363 So.2d 792 (Fla.1978); and 2) a breach of custody amounting to a species of conversion or theft will relieve an owner of responsibility for the negligence of one to whom the owner has granted consent to operate the vehicle, Susco, 112 So.2d at 835-36. The question in this case involves the second exception of whether a theft or conversion occurred under the circumstances of this case so as to relieve Hertz from liability.

Although we address the issue of whether a theft or conversion has occurred in this case in the context of a rental car company, it is important to recognize that the principle of strict liability imposed under the dangerous instrumentality doctrine also applies to individuals. Accordingly, under the district court's interpretation of the doctrine, individual vehicle owners would also be liable once they had consented to allow another to use their...