Summary Judgment Reversed In Truck Roll-Over Action.

Two men were driving a tractor-trailer across the country. One was driving while the other slept in a berth when the vehicle rolled over. The man who was sleeping is the plaintiff here. Plaintiff sued the owners of the tractor and the owners of the trailer for negligence. The court granted summary judgment in favor of both defendants, concluding that as a matter of law neither was vicariously liable for the driver’s negligence. On appeal, plaintiff argued the trailer owner owed him a nondelegable duty of care and is vicariously liable for the driver’s negligence. He also argued the tractor owner is vicariously liable under Vehicle Code section 17150, which states that a vehicle owner is vicariously liable for the negligence of a permissive user. The trailer owner argued on appeal that under Privette v. Sup. Ct. (1993) 5 Cal.4th 689, [21 Cal.Rptr.2d 72, 854 P.2d 721], a hirer is not vicariously liable for the negligence of a person hired by an independent contractor. The tractor owner argued it is not vicariously liable under 49 U.S.C. § 30106(a), which statute shields owners of leased vehicle “engaged in the business or trade of renting or leasing motor vehicles” from vicarious liability for the alleged negligence of their lessee’s drivers. The appellate court reversed the grant of summary judgment, stating: “Privette and its progeny have never been applied to a case like the present one, where the basis for liability is alleged to be a ‘franchise granted by public authority’ [] here, a federal motor carrier’s license.” With regard to the tractor owner’s argument, the appellate court stated it had not “established as a matter of undisputed fact that the tractor’s owner is entitled to the protection” of the statute in that “it presented no evidence that it was engaged in the trade or business of renting or leasing motor vehicles, or that it leased any motor vehicles other than the tractor involved in this case. (Vargas v. FMI, Inc. (Cal. App. Second Dist., Div. 3; January 23, 2015) 233 Cal.App.4th 638, [182 Cal.Rptr.3d 803].)