Legal Question in Business Law in California

As to the first question, my sources advise me that credit cards generally carry an individual's name, since companies (corporations) cannot do handwriting and therefore cannot sign anything. So, an "XYZ, Inc." credit card authorizing charges to XYZ, Inc. invariably must also bear the name of the individual corporate officer or employee to whom it is assigned and who may incur the charges and risks on behalf of the company. Now, if there is an accident, other rules and policies of law (rather than policies of the car issuer) will come into play. If Joe Doakes, assistant vice-president of XYZ, Inc., runs down a pedestrian with the rental car, Joe's and XYZ's liability to the pedestrian will be determined by whether Joe was driving on business or a personal lark, etc. -- having little to do with the rental company's policies. (The sources I rely upon are (former) senior officers of a credit card company.)

As to the second proposition, while it is generally true, I believe it goes too far in assuming that all liability is taken away from the party which initially reserved and paid for the car. There are many court decisions showing that any party involved in a transaction or series of related transactions which acts negligently can be found liable for injuries proximately resulting from said negligence. A company that sets up a rental for an employee with a known history of bad driving, drunkenness, etc., is rather likely to be found liable for any harm caused by the employee with the rental car.

The long and short of it is that your question fails to separate issues relating to credit card issuer policies, rental-car company policies, and policies of the courts in deciding auto-injury liability cases.