Wilbert Johnson v. U-Haul Company of Louisiana
(August 2007)
Devin Fadaol won a victory for U-Haul before the Louisiana Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The issue was whether U-Haul is liable to plaintiff for an accident in which its lessee failed to return the rental truck, and the rental truck was involved in a hit-and-run accident three weeks later. After briefing and oral argument, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the summary judgment granted in favor of U-Haul holding that U-Haul was not liable under the circumstances as it made sufficient attempts to recover the vehicle, and the Court refused to establish any time frame under Louisiana law by which rental companies were required to recover a vehicle to avoid liability to third parties.