Opinion ID: 874328
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Scope of permission

Text: Oregon Mutual further argues that the district court should have considered the scope of any express permission granted to Thompson and failed to do so. Oregon Mutual contends that, if Tananda gave Thompson express permission to drive to the gas station, Thompson exceeded the scope of that permission by driving to check on his car. Respondents counter that Tananda and Thompson were romantically involved and shared the same household, thus it was not necessary for Thompson to have precise permission at the exact moment of the accident when Tananda had already granted Thompson general permission to operate the vehicle. In Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. of Idaho v. Hmelevsky, 97 Idaho 46, 539 P.2d 598 (1975), the Court considered differing rules concerning the scope of general and specific permission to use a vehicle, as adopted in Ryan v. Western Pacific Insurance Co., 242 Or. 84, 408 P.2d 84 (1965): These have been catalogued as falling into one of three rules: (1) The `strict' or `conversion' rule, i.e., any deviation from the scope of the permission given ends coverage; (2) The `minor deviation' rule, i.e., a minor deviation from the scope, of the initial permission does not end coverage, but a major deviation does; and (3) The `liberal' or `initial permission' rule, i.e., the permittee is covered although the use is beyond the scope of the initial permission unless the use so far exceeds the initial permission that the permittee is akin to a thief or converter. Farm Bureau, 97 Idaho at 49, 539 P.2d at 601 (quoting Ryan, 408 P.2d at 86). Though the Court in Ryan declined to adopt any of the three rules and instead adopted the intra-family relationship permission rule, we find the initial permission rule to be consistent with I.C. §§ 49-1212 and 2417, as well as Idaho public policy. As described above, I.C. § 49-2417 defines liability for a motor vehicle owner to include the negligent operation of the vehicle by any person with the permission, expressed or implied, of the owner. In addition, I.C. § 49-1212(1)(b) describes requirements for liability insurance policies to include insuring any person using the vehicle with the express or implied permission of the named insured. Neither of these provisions create limitations based upon the scope of permission. This is consistent with the public policy goal of ensuring that the users of Idaho roadways are insured. Here, Tananda granted Thompson permission to drive the vehicle to purchase gasoline, and he only slightly exceeded the scope of that permission by driving in the direction of Middleton on Highway 44. Additionally, neither Tananda nor her parents took any actions to limit the scope of Thompson's permission to drive when it would have been apparent that Thompson had not simply driven to the gas station and back. They could have reported the vehicle as stolen following the accident, but did not, from which the trial court could infer there was implied permission to drive to where the accident took place. In addition, Tananda then provided proof of insurance for Thompson. Furthermore, Thompson did not so exceed the initial scope of permission as to be akin to a thief or converter. Thus, under the initial permission rule, there is substantial and competent evidence that Thompson was acting within the scope of express permission at the time of the accident. Therefore, we affirm the district court's finding that Thompson had permission to drive the vehicle at the time of the accident.