Wednesday, December 15, 2010

TN Court: Person who left keys in car responsible when it gets stolen

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Police at the scene of a car accident

Do you occasionally leave your keys in the car? We all have at one point, be it just running in to the ATM or stopping by a friend's house to drop off a borrowed tool. In that short time you are out of the vehicle, it's quite possible that someone could be watching and take off with your wheels. Since the new "owner" probably doesn't care too much about your vehicle and may be trying to escape from the authorities, it isn't too hard to see how the stolen vehicle could end up in a collision or as the focal point of a tragic accident. If all of the above happens and you live in Tennessee, then prepare to have your cash reserves depleted.

A suit was brought against a man who left his keys in his car, which was promptly stolen and then collided with another vehicle causing injuries to three passengers. Initially, the lawsuit was filed against the city of Murfreesboro and its police department- however, that suit was dismissed by the Tennessee Court of Appeals. But the court is allowing the suit against the owners of the vehicle to continue.

"Negligence" is the Word of the Day for Rubye Jarrell, the registered owner of the car and grandmother to Joseph D. Ash Jr., who apparently left the keys inside. According to the appeals court, it does not matter if the keys were in the ignition or somewhere in plain sight, Jarrell is still liable.

What do you think - should Jarrell be deemed negligent and face legal consequences? Have your say in Comments.

[Source: The Associated Press via Tennessean | Image: fourbyfourblazer | CC 2.0]

TN Court: Person who left keys in car responsible when it gets stolen originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/14/tn-court-person-who-left-keys-in-car-responsible-when-it-gets-s/

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