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Originally Posted by ilovetv
Not so sure this supreme court decision applies to unlicensed golf carts that are not "street legal" with licensing, registration, insurance etc.
They refer to Daimler Chrysler and Enterprise Rental Car companies. The golf carts we use here in the streets are not treated like cars/trucks etc leased out by a company like Enterprise or a Chrysler dealer.......
"A recent decision of the Florida Supreme Court shields owners of vehicles leased for one year or more from liability for harm that results from the lease of the vehicles. Rosado v. DaimlerChrysler, ___ So. 3d ___, 2013 WL 1338047 (Fla. Apr. 4, 2013). In Rosado, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the federal Graves Amendment, which insulates businesses that rent or lease vehicles from vicarious liability for harm caused by their drivers, preempts Florida state law. By a 5-2 decision, the Rosado Court held “the Graves Amendment preempts liability under Florida Statutes Section 324.021(9)(b)(1).” Rosado, 2013 WL 1338047, at
*1. - See more at: Florida Supreme Court Rules No Vicarious Liability for Businesses that Rent or Lease Vehicles | Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell - Florida Law Firm
Consult an attorney of your own to be safe!! |
The decision applies to businesses that "rent or lease motor vehicles". That's extremely broad. A golf cart is a motor vehicle.
Florida's dangerous instrumentality doctrine applies to golf carts which would have created the vicarious liability to the owner of the rental agency. So this strikes that down. Their is no other owners liability statute or case law in Florida creating liability for the owner.