Opinion ID: 1990198
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Liability Based on Ownership.

Text: As noted in the statement of facts, the plaintiff had paid his mother for the car, but he had not yet received title to it because he was waiting until he had completed the move to Missouri. It is undisputed that legal title was still in his mother. Under Iowa Code section 321.1(49),  [o]wner  means a person who holds the legal title of a vehicle, or in the event a vehicle is the subject of a security agreement with an immediate right of possession vested in the debtor, then such debtor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose of this chapter. A certificate of title is not conclusive evidence of ownership between a buyer and seller, but it is prima facie evidence of it. Schultz v. Security Nat'l Bank, 583 N.W.2d 886, 889 (Iowa 1998) (citing Sandhorst v. Mauk's Transfer, Inc. 252 N.W.2d 393, 398 (Iowa 1977)). Here, the defendants made no effort to rebut the presumption that the plaintiff's mother, not the plaintiff, was the titleholder. Phillips does not, therefore, impute the driver's negligence to the plaintiff on the basis of ownership, and we agree with the plaintiff on that point. Reaching that decision, however, does not mean the case must be reversed if, aside from any consideration of imputed negligence, the plaintiff was guilty of negligence in his own right. The defendants contend that he was; he negligently repaired the taillights, allowed the trailer to be operated without effective taillights, and joined in the decision to drive below the legal minimum speed. The plaintiff had a duty to exercise reasonable care for his own safety, irrespective of any negligence of the driver that might be imputed to him. See Peters v. Howser, 419 N.W.2d 392, 394 (Iowa 1988); Glandon v. Fiala, 261 Iowa 750, 755, 156 N.W.2d 327, 331 (1968). Further, [w]hen it becomes apparent, or should become apparent, to a guest that the driver is operating the vehicle in a negligent or reckless manner, the exercise of reasonable care on the part of the guest for his own safety requires that he protest or remonstrate with the driver against his negligent or reckless conduct in an attempt to persuade him to drive carefully. If the guest discovers danger, or should discover danger in the exercise of reasonable care, and is aware that it is due in whole or in part to the manner in which the vehicle is being operated, or to the conduct of the driver, it is negligence for him or her to sit supine and indifferent without warning or protest. 8 Am.Jur.2d Automobiles & Highway Traffic § 649, at 222 (1997) (footnotes omitted); accord Wiedenfeld v. Chicago & N.W. Transp. Co., 252 N.W.2d 691, 698 (Iowa 1977). When the court's instructions 20, 21, and 22 are considered together, we believe it is clear the case was submitted on the basis of the claimant's own acts, not on imputed negligence. This is clear because, despite the court's discussion of the concept of imputed negligence, it did not submit the theory to the jury. Substantial evidence supports the jury's finding of fault on the defendants' specifications of negligence that were submitted. We therefore affirm. AFFIRMED.