Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

in any automobile accident, there are at least three classes of potential non-company or non-governmental entity defendants who can be sued: 1) the negligent driver of the vehicle, 2) the owner of the vehicle but that liability is limited to the first $15,000 of payments [if the driver pays the plaintiff $16,000, the owner owes nothing; if the driver pays $10,000, the owner owes up to an additional $5,000], 3) anyone who negligently entrusts the vehicle to a driver they know or should have know is not a safe driver [unlimited liability]. You also run into the problem that your insurance company will likely deny liability because the vehicle is not housed at your premises, the driver is not on your policy as a driver, etc.

Of course. The driver and all registered owners are liable for any harm that may be caused by its operation.