Driver Background Checks & Hawthorne NJ

[iriswalt]

this whole post is bullshit

This post is probably fake. Any reputible or semi-reputible lawyer would know that this forum is not a reliable research source.

I just cannot not respond to this--you are so off base--let me educate you on basic law--any time a customer gives fraudulent info, then they have broken any contractural agreement with ERAC (not ELRAC)and are therefore completely liable on their own--go after the deadbeat that hurt your client not ERAC--as he is in jail, I think that he is getting what he deserves--I am so very sorry that your client was so affected by his actions and I completely understand, but do not blame the innocent party-good luck (Vocarious law has not bearing in this)

Originally Posted by NYCLAW

Thanks for the quick replies. With respect to vicarious liability, at the time of the accident only New York and Rhode Island imputed liability of a driver to automobile owners. The rental car/leasing/insurance industries fought the issue for years. They were unsuccessful at the state level. In 2005, a provision was slipped into a federal transportation bill wiping out the vicarious liability laws with respect to rental/leasing companies. This is one of the last cases to be filed in New York under the old law. Regardless of the equities, ELRAC will be on the hook for this one.

Bullshit you dumbass

[Robert]

Originally Posted by slave no more

Sorry I guess I jumped the gun. Did you check to see if the renter had his own insurance? Have you attempted to contact or sue the driver? I just ask because nowadays I could probably be a lawyer. Find a victim, find the deepest pockets and then hope to settle. Sounds pretty easy. I feel for the person but what professional comes to a bitch and moan website for information when it comes to "Going to bat" for someone. This lawyer is basically having other people do work for him. Where is my cut?

I don't think we helped him that much. He needed a full name to go after.

Originally Posted by NYCLAW

I’m an attorney in New York City who represents an individual who was seriously injured in an accident involving an ELRAC vehicle. The lessee, a convicted drug dealer, traveled from Manhattan to the ELRAC location in Hawthorne, NJ to rent the vehicle (approx. fifteen miles outside of NYC; there are approx. ten closer locations; accident date 10/28/03). Apparently, the lessee rented the vehicle using a fake driver’s license. It’s unclear whether he paid cash or used a credit card for the rental. The rental agreement indicates that a check in the amount of $1300 was left as an “add’l deposit”. I have attached the rental agreement.

Within two hours of the rental, the lessee hit my client, a pedestrian. The lessee left the scene without stopping. My client was left for dead. She was in a coma for seven weeks. She broke virtually every bone in her body. Miraculously, she eventually left the hospital after three months (hospital bills in excess of $200K). She continues to suffer from the injuries and resultant brain damage.

Approximately one year following the accident, the driver was located and arrested. He is currently serving a ten year sentence for the hit and run.

This case falls under the ‘old’ New York vicarious liability law (meaning that ELRAC is responsible for the negligence of the operator). The law presumes that an operator of a rental car has the permission of the owner (ELRAC). ELRAC has raised a defense that it is not responsible since it was ‘defrauded’ by the lessee using a fake driver’s license. The decided cases in New York hold that this is not a valid defense. Nonetheless, it’s ELRAC’s only defense.

Jurors don’t like frivolous defenses. I want to hit ELRAC hard on this issue.

Does ELRAC actually check the background of its renters? What procedures does it have in place to prevent drivers from using fake licenses? Do they follow these procedures? Why did the lessee travel to Hawthorne, NJ to rent the vehicle? Were there problems with this branch? Is there anything in the lease agreement that is unusual?

All responses will be kept in confidence. DPHLAW@hotmail.com

Thanks.

Wow. Didn't this case just get decided? If not, you may want to do a friggin Lexis Nexis search... almost the exact same case was just decided about 3 weeks ago, but in the south. Result? ERAC won hands down... The State Supreme Court of Mississippi (I think) ruled ERAC is not required to do any kind of background check when renting a car. While I understand Mississippi law is different from NJ law, usually a case like this would be considered precedent, no?

All i want to know is why this bonehead kept saying ELRAC instead of ERAC. I worked there for a year and a half and have no recollection of an L in the name. Either he made a typo nearly 12 times, im retarded and missed something, or he's just totally clueless. which is it?
p.s. if he does go to court and says ELRAC im sure that would get some laughs

ELRAC = Enterprise Leasing Rent A Car
You're not retarded