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ARTICLE ID 42026
DEFENDANT''S Bailment - Plaintiff''s vehicle is stolen from defendant car dealer''s lot.
Hartford
The plaintiff contended that he conferred possession of his
vehicle to the defendant for the purpose of maintenance on the vehicle. The plaintiff asserted that the vehicle was stolen while
in the defendant’s possession and therefore the defendant was
responsible. The defendant argued that it never received
possession of the vehicle.
The plaintiff claimed that he brought his BMW to the defendant’s
premises after hours and dropped it off in order to have the
defendant change the oil the following day. The plaintiff
testified that he parked the vehicle on the defendant’s lot and
placed the keys in a night drop box. The following day he phoned
the defendant to check on the status of the maintenance whereupon
the defendant informed the plaintiff that the vehicle was not at
the defendant’s premises. The vehicle was reported to the police
as missing. When the vehicle was later recovered, it was deemed
to be a total loss. A perpetrator was arrested and prosecuted for
the theft of the vehicle. The plaintiff brought this action
against the defendant claiming the defendant was responsible for
the loss of the vehicle because the plaintiff had conferred
possession to defendant thus creating a bailment.
The defendant argued that it never received possession of the
vehicle and therefore there was no bailment and no corresponding
responsibility. The defendant called its service manager who
testified that, when he came into the office on the morning after
the plaintiff claimed to have dropped off the vehicle, no keys
for that vehicle were recovered from the night drop and the
vehicle was not on the lot. The defendant’s witness testimony
supported the defense that the defendant never received the
plaintiff’s property. The defendant also called the police
officer who investigated the theft. The police officer testified
that there was no sign of forced entry into the defendant’s
premises and no signs of theft.
The jury found in favor of the defendant.
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- Defeat or support post-trial motions through past case histories.
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