In a landmark ruling, Jean Francois Huchon and Florida plaintiffs, United States District Judge K. Michael Moore has held that the federal rental car immunity statute, 49 U.S.C. § 30106, commonly known as the Graves Amendment, which purports to regulate vicarious tort liability of car rental companies, is an unconstitutional overreaching of Congress' power under the Commerce Clause. In his well-analyzed opinion, Judge Moore held that the Graves Amendment directly indicates an intention to pre-empt state law. The Court concluded that Congress exceeded the authority granted by the Commerce Clause because the statute regulates tort liability but does not directly regulate either channels of interstate commerce or the use of those channels; does not regulate the use of instrumentalities of interstate commerce; and does not substantially affect interstate commerce.
The Court found that there is no evidence that vicarious tort liability for car rental or leasing companies would undercut some larger federal regulatory scheme for the car rental industry. Nor is vicarious tort liability for car rental or leasing companies being used by states to control interstate commerce in rental cars. Nor has any argument been raised that the car rental or leasing industry requires protection, or is in the least bit of danger.
Jean Huchon was severely injured in February 2006 when the motorcycle he was riding was struck by the driver of an Alamo rental car in Marathon, Florida. Jean Huchon suffered closed head injury and cervical spine fractures due to the rental car driver's negligence. The personal injury action filed in the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Florida was removed to the United States District Court on diversity jurisdiction grounds. Alamo's parent, Vanguard Car Rental USA, Inc. filed an action for declaratory judgment claiming immunity from liability based on the Graves Amendment. The Court consolidated the underlying tort and declaratory judgment actions. The tort action is currently pending before Judge Moore and awaiting a trial date.
If you have any questions, please contact Ronald D. Ingber, a long island personal injury attorney located in Garden City, New York.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
FIREFIGHTERS - Know Your Rights.
The fire service is under attack in New York State and most volunteer firemen don’t even know the problems exist! Siler & Ingber, LLP is here to explain not only the problem facing the fire service today, but the solution and how the rank and file firemen help.
For decades, both volunteer firemen and fire districts have been immune from general negligence suits. A fire district had been given protection from negligence suits in order to protect the tax payers from having to fund frivolous suits. All of this is now changing. Fire districts across Long Island are now faced with the prospect of being held responsible for a variety of accidents, including automobile accidents involving district owned vehicles. Volunteer firemen may be next, as their immunity is also in jeopardy.
The problem here is very simple. If a fire district is held in simple negligence for an accident involving district owned property, that means that the insurance premiums for the fire districts will increase dramatically. As you all know, the total budget of each fire district is never easy to increase and each dollar that is spent on insurance premiums is a dollar that is taken away from the general fund. Would you prefer to have money to spend on new equipment, new vehicles and training or would you rather it go towards an insurance company? The answer is simple, and we must all now act together to combat this problem.
The solution is that the fire service must band together, and sign petitions which will be forwarded onto our local legislatures and local state senators. We must demand that Albany respond to this attack on the fire service by changing General Municipal Law §205-b. This is the statute that is being used to hold fire districts responsible for accidents as they have never been held before. You can help: please sign a petition in your firehouse, and speak about this issue in your local community.
For more information, please contact Jeffrey Siler, Esq.
For decades, both volunteer firemen and fire districts have been immune from general negligence suits. A fire district had been given protection from negligence suits in order to protect the tax payers from having to fund frivolous suits. All of this is now changing. Fire districts across Long Island are now faced with the prospect of being held responsible for a variety of accidents, including automobile accidents involving district owned vehicles. Volunteer firemen may be next, as their immunity is also in jeopardy.
The problem here is very simple. If a fire district is held in simple negligence for an accident involving district owned property, that means that the insurance premiums for the fire districts will increase dramatically. As you all know, the total budget of each fire district is never easy to increase and each dollar that is spent on insurance premiums is a dollar that is taken away from the general fund. Would you prefer to have money to spend on new equipment, new vehicles and training or would you rather it go towards an insurance company? The answer is simple, and we must all now act together to combat this problem.
The solution is that the fire service must band together, and sign petitions which will be forwarded onto our local legislatures and local state senators. We must demand that Albany respond to this attack on the fire service by changing General Municipal Law §205-b. This is the statute that is being used to hold fire districts responsible for accidents as they have never been held before. You can help: please sign a petition in your firehouse, and speak about this issue in your local community.
For more information, please contact Jeffrey Siler, Esq.
The DO'S and DON'TS in an Accident.
THE DO’S
DO seek proper medical attention before doing anything else.
DO summon the police, in appropriate cases.
DO cooperate with all law enforcement and emergency personnel who respond to the scene.
DO get the license plate numbers of all other vehicles involved in car accidents and the driver’s names, addresses, telephone numbers and insurance information.
DO get the names and address of the animal’s owner and any license information if you were injured by an animal bite or attack.
DO write down the names, addresses and phone numbers of all potential witnesses to any accident or injury.
DO contact your health, homeowner’s and/or automobile insurance companies, as appropriate.
DO take photographs of all of the following, as applicable, as soon as possible after the accident:
• The scene of the accident, from all angles.
• The surrounding area.
• The product or animal that caused your injuries.
• Your injuries.
• Any property damage.
DO contact an experienced personal injury lawyer.
THE DON’TS
DON’T move your vehicle after an automobile accident unless necessary for safety or required by law.
DON’T subject yourself to further injury by standing or waiting in an area near traffic or other safety hazards.
DON’T leave the scene of an accident until the police tell you it is okay to do so.
DON’T throw away any potential evidence in the case, such as defective products, important documents, or torn or blood stained clothing.
DON’T engage in discussions of fault with anyone, and make sure you don’t apologize for anything – doing so can be considered evidence that you may have been legally at fault.
DON’T agree to settlement terms without discussing the matter with your attorney.
DO seek proper medical attention before doing anything else.
DO summon the police, in appropriate cases.
DO cooperate with all law enforcement and emergency personnel who respond to the scene.
DO get the license plate numbers of all other vehicles involved in car accidents and the driver’s names, addresses, telephone numbers and insurance information.
DO get the names and address of the animal’s owner and any license information if you were injured by an animal bite or attack.
DO write down the names, addresses and phone numbers of all potential witnesses to any accident or injury.
DO contact your health, homeowner’s and/or automobile insurance companies, as appropriate.
DO take photographs of all of the following, as applicable, as soon as possible after the accident:
• The scene of the accident, from all angles.
• The surrounding area.
• The product or animal that caused your injuries.
• Your injuries.
• Any property damage.
DO contact an experienced personal injury lawyer.
THE DON’TS
DON’T move your vehicle after an automobile accident unless necessary for safety or required by law.
DON’T subject yourself to further injury by standing or waiting in an area near traffic or other safety hazards.
DON’T leave the scene of an accident until the police tell you it is okay to do so.
DON’T throw away any potential evidence in the case, such as defective products, important documents, or torn or blood stained clothing.
DON’T engage in discussions of fault with anyone, and make sure you don’t apologize for anything – doing so can be considered evidence that you may have been legally at fault.
DON’T agree to settlement terms without discussing the matter with your attorney.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)