Following heavy lobbying by trial lawyers, the lower houses of the New York and Rhode Island legislatures have refused to act to limit auto leasing companies’ currently unlimited “vicarious liability” for their lessees’ crashes, thus apparently ensuring that Ford, Honda and other major automakers will continue fleeing from the two states. We covered the controversy in a Jun. 9 op-ed as well as in earlier posts. New coverage: Ed Garsten, “Firms halt N.Y. vehicle leases”, Detroit News, Jul. 6; Matt Smith, “Auto leasing companies fleeing state”, Ottaway/Middletown Times-Herald Record, Jul. 2; Jeremy Boyer, “Dealers steer way past loss of leasing”, Albany Times-Union, Jul. 3; “Bill Limiting Accident Liability Appears Doomed”, TurnTo10.com (WJAR-TV Providence), Jun. 30 (R.I.). Update Aug. 3: Reform not doomed in R.I. after all, major automakers agree to stay after governor signs one-year fix limiting liability to $300K, leaving N.Y. as only state with unlimited liability.
Car-lease liability crisis continues in N.Y., R.I.
Following heavy lobbying by trial lawyers, the lower houses of the New York and Rhode Island legislatures have refused to act to limit auto leasing companies’ currently unlimited “vicarious liability” for their lessees’ crashes, thus apparently ensuring that Ford, Honda and other major automakers will continue fleeing from the two states. We covered the controversy […]
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