Pinaglia v. Beaulieu

The issue presented by this demurrer is whether the negligence of the driver of a family car may be imputed to the owner-occupant. It is the court’s considered opinion that the answer to this question is “No.”

To start with, vicarious liability runs counter to the accepted principle that a man is held responsible only for his own actions and not for those of another. If an individual, himself without fault, is to be held vicariously liable, it must be because it is right as a matter of public policy to shift the economic burden. Whatever the judicial rationalization from time to time, it is…