Avis Rent a Car System, Inc. v. Superior Court

Opinion

CHIN, J.

Avis Rent A Car System, Inc. (Avis), is being sued by a motorist injured when her car was rammed by a stolen Avis vehicle being chased from the scene of a shoplifting. Avis’s liability is premised upon its failure to take adequate precautions to prevent theft of its vehicles. We conclude that the “special circumstances” doctrine arising from the California Supreme Court decision in Richards v. Stanley (1954) 43 Cal.2d 60, 65-66 [271 P.2d 23], the only plausible basis for Avis’s liability, does not stretch this far. We order issuance of a writ of mandate to compel the superior…