Legal Question in Personal Injury in New Mexico

Stolen Vehicle involved in auto accident kills adverse party

If the owner of a vehicle left his keys in the car, someone stolen the vehicle, was then involved in an accident and killed the other person, do you see any liability on the owner of the vehicle? The person who stole the vehicle was legally intoxicated. What case law do you know of that places fault on the owner of the vehicle?


Asked on 2/27/02, 12:42 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Dennis W. Montoya The Law Offices of Dennis W. Montoya

Re: Stolen Vehicle involved in auto accident kills adverse party

The case against the owner would be predicated on the tort of negligence. Negligence depends upon the owner owing a legal duty to do or refrain from doing something and then breaching that duty. The circumstances of the car theft will have something to do with whether there is any liability at all for the subsequent accident. Usually, locking the care and taking the keys with you would satisfy the duty of "ordinary care." But what if the car had a broken window that was easily opened, the owner knew it, the car was easily "hot wired," and the owner also knew that, and the area was known for frequent car thefts, and the owner also knew this fact? This could change the result.

I don't know of any New Mexico cases that discuss such facts or any similar facts. It seems that there hasn't been a New Mexico case reported in which the Court discusses liability for a stolen vehicle driver's actions since about 1965, and that case involved a parent's liability for his child's actions in stealing a car and getting into an accident.

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Answered on 2/27/02, 5:41 pm


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