In WEBER v. MARINO PARKING SYSTEMS, INC., 37 Fla. L. Weekly 2576a (Fla 2DCA 2012), the Florida Second District Court of Appeal held that a valet service was not liable for wrongful death when it returned a car to an obviously intoxicated owner. In this case, the intoxicated car owner was later involved in a car accident that caused the death of Weber. The estate of Weber sued the valet service for wrongful death on the theory of negligent entrustment of the motor vehicle when it knew that the owner was intoxicated.
Florida Negligent Entrustment
The Florida Second District Court of Appeal reasoned that under a theory of negligent entrustment, liability is grounded on the fact that the party who negligently entrusts a vehicle has a superior right to possession and thus can in fact withhold possession to the other party. In this case, the valet service does not have a superior right to possession of the car over its rightful owner. In fact, the opposite is true because the valet service must give possession of the car back to the owner when so demanded. Because the intoxicated owner of the car already owns the car, the valet service cannot be liable for negligently entrusting the car to him.
Related Topics: Florida Personal Injury, Negligent Entrustment, Wrongful Death, Bailor
