Evan Schuster and his company SC Diesel made claims against Franke Schultz & Mullen client Bill McFadden alleging that he was vicariously liable for his grandson’s purported breach of a bailment contract for a loaner truck used by his grandson while a truck owned by him and his grandson was being worked on at SC Diesel and for his grandson’s purported conversion of that loaner truck, both of which were denied.  Mr. Schuster and SC Diesel sought compensatory damages, punitive damages and a declaratory judgment that SC Diesel was entitled to a lien against the McFaddens’ truck. 

In response to a Motion for Summary Judgment filed on Bill McFadden’s behalf by FSM attorney Nick Hillyard, Judge Robert Liston entered a Decree finding that the uncontroverted material facts demonstrated that Bill McFadden was not a party to the bailment contract for the loaner vehicle, was unaware of it and there appeared to be no evidence that Bill McFadden’s grandson ever acted on his behalf.  Therefore, Judge Liston concluded that Bill McFadden could not be held vicariously liable to Mr. Schuster or SC Diesel as a matter of law and granted Bill McFadden summary judgement on all of the claims against him.

Additionally, based on that Motion, Judge Liston entered a Decree finding that the uncontroverted material facts demonstrated that SC Diesel was not a party to the bailment contract, it had no legally protectable interest based on ownership or otherwise in the loaner truck and it sustained no threatened or actual injury based on Bill McFadden’s grandson’s alleged conduct.  Accordingly, Judge Liston concluded that SC Diesel was not a real party in interest and lacked standing to assert any of its claims.  Therefore, SC Diesel’s action for declaratory judgment was dismissed and it was removed as a party from the remaining counts that it asserted with Mr. Schuster.