The plaintiff was seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident. The owner of the vehicle that collided with the plaintiff had given the defendant driver keys to her vehicle in order for him to retrieve his cigarettes from it. Instead of doing so, the defendant driver took the car and drove away. The defendant owner took the position that the defendant driver was in possession of her vehicle without her consent. The plaintiff’s insurer (named as a defendant in the action pursuant to the uninsured/underinsured provisions of the plaintiff’s auto policy) brought a motion for summary judgment, seeking a determination that the defendant driver was in possession of the defendant vehicle with the owner’s consent and therefore the owner was liable for loss or damage caused by the defendant driver’s use of the vehicle. Justice Hurley dismissed the motion, finding that giving someone the keys to one’s car does not constitute giving possession of the car to them. To conclude otherwise would lead to results appearing at odds with a sensible interpretation of the Highway Traffic Act.
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