Firm persuades federal judge to dismiss negligent entrustment action
BOSTON (May 5, 2010) – A federal court recently ruled that a pedestrian injured by a motor vehicle did not have a viable claim against the vehicle’s owner – the employer of a man who was operating the vehicle at the time of the accident.
Associate Lauren Regis successfully argued that the pedestrian did not and could not allege that the firm’s client had any actual knowledge that its employee had a propensity to operate a motor vehicle in a negligent manner, or was otherwise unfit to operate the vehicle. Such knowledge is a necessary element of a negligent entrustment claim.
The judge allowed the firm’s motion to dismiss the negligent entrustment cause of action filed by the injured pedestrian, finding that the claim lacked any factual support. The judge also agreed with the firm’s argument that the pedestrian failed to allege sufficient facts to support a negligent hiring and supervision claim.
“We are pleased that the judge dismissed this claim early in the case,” Regis said. “The decision spares both the client and the court from wasting resources defending against a non-existent claim.”
About Taylor Duane
Taylor Duane is one of New England’s leading civil litigation law firms with offices in Boston and Providence. Its experienced trial attorneys appear regularly in the federal and state courts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The Providence Business News has named the firm in 2008 and 2009 as one of Rhode Island’s Best Places to Work.
