Leased Vehicles In Motor Vehicle Accidents

There has been an interesting development in personal injury law related to motor vehicle accidents involving leased vehicles. In a very recent decision the British Columbia Court of Appeal has decided that the simple presence of an option to purchase in a vehicle lease is no longer sufficient to extend protection offered by the Motor Vehicle Act to conditional sellers of vehicles ie. leasing companies. Vehicle leasing is a common occurance in todays business world. Most, if not all, vehicle leases contain an option to purchase that allows the individual the right to purchase the automobile from the leasing company at the end of the lease if the individual so chooses.
 
The owner of a vehicle may be held vicariously liable for the injuries caused by a person who drives their vehicle and injures another party. There is a specific exemption contained in the Motor Vehicle Act that exempts conditional sellers of vehicles from liability if that vehicle becomes involved in an accident. Prior to the Court's decision in Yeung v. Au that exemption was routinely extended to leasing companies, however, this recent decision by a 5 person panel of our Court of Appeal has now stated that this exemption has no application to the typical vehicle leasing arrangement. Consequently, persons who are seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident may have access to another level of insurance if it should so happen that the driver and lessee of the offending vehicle do not carry sufficient insurance to fully compensate them for their loss."

For more information on this topic, contact Mark Baron at baron@pushormitchell.com.