Legal Question in Traffic Law in California

How to take name of auto liability suit.
A business and a person are being sued for an auto accident. The person was driving and the son of the business owner. He was not currently employed by the business. The son was driving a truck currently registered to another company when he crashed it. The truck however was in the process of being transferred to the son's father's business. The father however did not receive a pink slip yet from the previous owner of the truck. How can the Father remove his name from the suit based on the fact that he was not the legal owner of the truck and neither was he's son a current employee of the company?

Asked on 10/18/01, 2:29 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Robert Miller Robert L. Miller & Associates, A Law Corporation

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Re: How to take name of auto liability suit.

Thanks for your posting, and apologies for the length of time it took for you to get a response.

It is common for plaintiff attorneys to sue everyone possible connected with a lawsuit, and then conduct discovery and see who should be dismissed.

Employers may have some liability, however, based upon their status as supervisors of employees, even if they were not involved in the accident at all.

The best thing to do is to explain to the plaintiff's attorney the situation and ASK to be let out of the lawsuit. If the attorney refuses, then you will need to file a motion to dismiss, known in legalese as a "Motion for Summary Judgment", filed at the appropriate time, showing the court that you had no liability for the accident as a matter of law and that you should be dismissed.

I hope this helps, and if you need legal representation, or have further questions, please feel free to call me anytime, toll free, at 1-877-568-2977, or email my office.

Answered on 11/23/01, 4:02 pm

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