Opinion ID: 717823
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Negligent Entrustment

Text: 14 Under Michigan law, to prove negligent entrustment of a motor vehicle, a plaintiff must prove that the entrustee was an incompetent driver, that the entrustor knew it, and that the entrustment was causally connected with the accident. Mowinski v. Bishop, 163 N.W.2d 655, 657 (Mich.Ct.App.1968) (citation omitted). Liability is imposed for negligent entrustment because an owner or lender of a motor vehicle has the duty to refrain from placing it in the hands of a known unfit or incompetent driver for operation on public highways. Worth v. Dortman, 288 N.W.2d 603, 608 (Mich.Ct.App.1979), lv. denied, No. 64.319 (Mich. May 6, 1980). Since Anderson failed to produce any evidence that Boumelhem was a known unfit or incompetent driver or that the injuries in this case resulted from the operation of the motor vehicle, Anderson failed to prove negligent entrustment of an automobile. 15 We also reject Anderson's negligent entrustment claim to the extent he asserts that the van was a dangerous instrumentality and Mehaidli should have known that Boumelhem would not know how to handle the flammable substances in it. See Moning v. Alfono, 254 N.W.2d 759, 768 (Mich.1977) (The doctrine of negligent entrustment is not peculiar to automobiles but rather an ordinary application of general principles for determining whether a person's conduct was reasonable in light of the apparent risk.). Not only was Boumelhem a certified mechanic with many years of experience working on automobiles surrounded by flammable liquids and materials, but also Anderson has provided no basis to infer that Mehaidli knew or should have known that Boumelhem was incompetent with respect to his knowledge of flammable substances. See Fredericks v. General Motors Corp., 311 N.W.2d 725, 727 (Mich.1981) (To sustain a cause of action for negligent entrustment a plaintiff must prove that defendant knew or should have known of the unreasonable risk propensities of the entrustee.). Accordingly, we affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment on Anderson's negligent entrustment claim.