Leave your keys in the car in TN? Prepare to get sued...

[TheMentat]

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.

Unfukkinbelievable. If the car owner is actually held to be liable, the car thief should also sue... just to highlight the idiocy of such a ruling.

[pwd72s]

Convoluted thinking 101...too many judges subscribe to this.

Far as I'm concerned, one should be able to park his car, keys in it, anywhere, and expect it to be there when he returns..

That is, if the world was full of only honest people.

Theft is against the law...period!

[KFC911]

It's been bitter cold here...someone's seems to get their running car stolen from their driveway every day

[70SATMan]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Far as I'm concerned, one should be able to park his car, keys in it, anywhere, and expect it to be there when he returns..

That is, if the world was full of only honest people.

While I agree that the suit in this case is pushing the limits of reason, what if you left your keys in a car and a child got their hands on them? Not so black and white is it Paul?

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by 70SATMan

While I agree that the suit in this case is pushing the limits of reason, what if you left your keys in a car and a child got their hands on them? Not so black and white is it Paul?

Exactly, this is a concept that has been around forever. Called an "attractive nuisance."

You should also be able to leave your loaded handgun sitting around, and expect it to be there when you get back. If only the world were full of only honest, responsible people, you could. But it isn't.

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by 70SATMan

While I agree that the suit in this case is pushing the limits of reason, what if you left your keys in a car and a child got their hands on them? Not so black and white is it Paul?

Yep, still pretty black and white. If a child enters YOUR car, then the consequences should lie squarely on the parents of said child IMO.

The car owner in the above situation should bring his own suit against the car theif, the city/county/state, and a counter-suit against the (injured) parties suing him, for "un-due stress"... It would make about as much sense, and highlight the stupidity of the original suit and the judge who allowed it to fly.

[Joeaksa]

You guys need not go to Montreal. You leave a car door OPEN there, as in unlocked, and you get a ticket.

Was there for training years ago (its still the same today) and we had an ice storm. Coated everything from top to bottom including my rental car. Could not get the doors open no matter how hard we tried. Police came out and noticed that even though the doors would not open that the "unlock button" was in the unlocked position and gave me a ticket for it. Arseholes...

[dhoward]

Attractive nuisance my ass.
If it's not yours, don't touch it.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by dhoward

attractive nuisance my ass.
If it's not yours, don't touch it.

+1000

[doug_porsche]

This one is pretty simple. In today setup, everybody is negligent. The real question is how much.

Thief who took the car 97% negligent
City that has an unsafe intersection, and a police force that didnt catch the bad guy quicker 1.499999% but you cant sue the city.
Grandson who left the keys in the car 1.5% negligent. Was a dumb move to leave the keys in Gmaws car.
Grandma who loaned the car to the kid. .000001% It was her car, and she did have a kid who had a had a kid who was too dumb to take the keys out of the car.


This means on a 1,000,000 settlement that Grandma should pay one dollar. and I am not a grandma, or even a dad, but I think grandma should take the dollar out of the grand kids back side with a willow tree branch.

[GH85Carrera]

Nope, the thief is 100% responsible.

[pete3799]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Nope, the thief is 100% responsible.

+1
The car was STOLEN......end of story.

[RWebb]

the news article doesn't say if there is a state statute or city ord. against leaving the keys in the car or not

[McLovin]

If at a construction site, the workers leave all the gates open when they leave for the weekend, leave all the keys in the tractors, and some kids joyride a tractor, the construction workers bear no responsibility at all? There should be no responsibility for reasonably securing potentially dangerous things?

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by pete3799

+1
The car was STOLEN......end of story.

So if you leave your loaded handgun on a lunchroom counter, and it is taken (i.e., stolen) and used in a crime, you should bear NO responsibility for your carelessness?

[pete3799]

If Ileft it on a lunch room counter........yes
If i left it on my kitchen table.........no

[RWebb]

the law just does not agree with (some of) you guys - and hasn't for at least a century

everybody has a duty to act like a "reasonable person" and one of the first questions is whether some bad thing was "reasonably foreseeable"

that is what McLovin is getting at

[McLovin]

That probably applies to the car key cases, too.

If your car is in your garage (the equivalence of your kitchen) with the keys in it, and it is stolen, there's probably no liability in any state in the country.

Leave the key in the ignition or otherwise visible, while parked on a public street (the lunch room counter) and there may be some liability.

[McLovin]

yes, it comes down to reasonableness.

you can't leave your bombmaking factory unlocked, a hospital has to reasonably secure its morphine, banks can't leave your money sitting unattended in the parking lot. There will be liability if bad things result.

Yes, in a perfect world, no one would steal the bombs, the morphine or the money, and it could all be left sitting in the street overnight, and still be there in the morning.

But we don't live in a perfect world. And in our imperfect world, it is reasonably foreseeable that things get taken if they are not handled in a reasonable manner.

Nobody (I think, but I've been surprised before) would argue that it would be reasonable for a valet parker to take your car, park it on a public street outside a restaurant, and leave the keys sitting on the roof or the dashboard. Everyone would hold the valet company liable if the car was stolen.

Query why that is? What would be your response if the valet company said "We have no liability, the thief shouldn't have taken your car, leave us alone."

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by McLovin

That probably applies to the car key cases, too.

If your car is in your garage (the equivalence of your kitchen) with the keys in it, and it is stolen, there's probably no liability in any state in the country.

Leave the key in the ignition or otherwise visible, while parked on a public street (the lunch room counter) and there may be some liability.

I thought your vehicle is considered an extension of your home (private property)? That is why cops need your permission or PC to search it. So, the "gun on the counter" analogy is a bad one IMO.