McCall v. Sopneski

Citations

• 202 Conn. App. 616

Syllabus

The plaintiff sought to recover damages from the defendants, S, and R. Co., an automobile dealership, for injuries he sustained when he was struck by a motor vehicle driven by S and owned by R Co., while he was riding his motorcycle. R Co. provided the vehicle to S to use while her own vehicle was being repaired at R Co. R Co. and S entered into an agreement regarding the vehicle, entitled ''Subaru Rental Agreement,'' that provided that the agreement was for a ''temporary substitute vehicle.'' The section of the agreement used for setting forth rental rates and charges was blank. S provided R Co. with proof of a valid automobile insurance policy at the time she signed the agreement. The plaintiff alleged that R Co. was vicariously liable for damages resulting from the accident pursuant to statute (§ 14-154a), because it had entered into a rental agreement with S. R Co. moved for summary judgment, asserting that the motor vehicle was loaned to S and that it was immune from liability pursuant to statute (§ 14-60), because § 14-60 grants immunity to motor vehicle dealers from liability caused by a loaned automobile, so long as the customer has furnished the dealer with proof of liability insurance. The trial court rendered summary judgment for R Co., concluding that R Co. had loaned the vehicle to S and that S had provided R Co. with proof of insurance. The plaintiff appealed to this court, claiming that R Co. was not entitled to the immunity provided by § 14-60 because the motor vehicle did not have a dealer plate and there was a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the motor vehicle had been ''loaned'' to S. Held that the trial court properly concluded that there was no genuine issue of material fact as to whether R Co. was entitled to the immunity provided by § 14-60: the plaintiff's construction of § 14-60, that it applies only to the lending of motor vehicles that have dealer plates affixed, was untenable in light of the plain language of the statute encom