Kassis v. Lease & Rental Management Corp.

At issue in this appeal is whether a long-term lessor of a vehicle owes a duty of care to a person who is injured as a result of a mechanical defect arising after the beginning of the lease. We conclude that, under the law of bailment, no such duty exists. Accordingly, we affirm the trial judge’s allowance of the defendant’s motion for a new trial, as well as the judgment entered in the second trial.

*785Background. The plaintiff brought this suit as administrator of Dib Kassis, who was struck by a car driven by Angela Marie Tropeano. Tropeano leased the car under a four-year lease from the…