4 No. 122
Master Cars, Inc., d/b/a Americar Rental System,
Appellant,
v.
Gary A. Walters,
Respondent, et al.,
Defendant.
_________________________________________________________________
2000 NY Int. 120
November 16, 2000
This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication
in the New York Reports.
Terry J. Kirwan, Jr., for appellant.
Stephen T. Helmer, for respondent.
_________________________________________________________________
ROSENBLATT, J.:
Defendant Gary Walters rented a car. After an acquaintance allegedly
stole the car and totaled it, the rental company sued Walters for the
damage. General Business Law § 396- z(2) prohibits a rental company
from holding an "authorized driver" liable for damage to the rental
car in excess of $100. The question before us is whether that
limitation applies when someone other than the "authorized driver" was
operating the car when damaged. We hold that it does.
Listing himself as the only "authorized driver," Walters rented a car
from plaintiff Americar Rental System. Several nights later, after
parking the car in his driveway, Walters went to bed. While he was
sleeping, Ron Bacon -- Walters' houseguest -- took the keys and made
off with the car. The next morning, Walters discovered the car missing
and reported it stolen to both the Baldwinsville Police and Americar.
Three days later, the Niagara County Sheriff's Department found the
car irreparably damaged and abandoned in a field. The Sheriff's
Department located Bacon and, after he confessed, arrested him for
Criminal Possession of Stolen Property.
Americar sued Walters and Bacon to recover the full value of the
rental car plus towing expenses. Americar asserts that Walters
breached the express terms of the Rental Agreement by allowing an
unauthorized driver -- Bacon -- to operate the car. Paragraph four of
the Agreement provides that the authorized driver "may not engage in
SNIPPETS:
Terry J. Kirwan, Jr., for appellant.
Defendant Gary Walters rented a car.
After an acquaintance allegedly stole the car and totaled it, the rental company sued Walters
General Business Law § 396- zprohibits a rental company from holding an "authorized driver"
The question before us is whether that limitation applies when someone other than the
Listing himself as the only "authorized driver," Walters rented a car from plaintiff Americar
The Sheriff's Department located Bacon and, after he confessed, arrested him for Criminal
Americar asserts that Walters breached the express terms of the Rental Agreement by allowing
Walters moved for summary judgment pursuant to CPLR 3212 arguing that General Business Law §
We affirm.
General Business Law § 396-zstates as a general rule that "o rental vehicle company renting
Notwithstanding the general rule, section 396- zdoes allow a rental company to recover up to
Americar asserts that even though Walters is an "authorized driver" the $100 liability cap
Americar argues that the word "driver" would lose its import if the statute protected
When a statute's language is clear and unambiguous, we must construe it so as to give effect
Americar, therefore, cannot hold him "liable for actual damage to, or loss of" the rental car
Nothing in the legislative history suggests that the Legislature intended to impose the added
the Legislature enacted the statute to protect rental car consumers in general.
It did not contemplate that the consumer, to invoke the statutory protection, had to be
In response, the Legislature, among other things, narrowed the definition of "authorized
Even the second time around, no one, including the rental car industry, advanced the prospect
It is for the Legislature, however, to determine that this concern outweighs competing
The former Illinois statute, similar to the current New York statute, prohibited rental
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