Car owner is not liable for the parking charges incurred by a loan car user

Tesla provides customers with a free loan car while their own vehicle is in the workshop. When the loan cars have been parked in private parking facilities without the customers paying the parking fees, invoices have been sent to Tesla as the registered owner.

The question before the Supreme Court was whether Tesla, as the registered owner, could be held liable for unpaid parking charges incurred by customers who had used the loan cars.

Like the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court found that Tesla is not liable. The parking companies did not have a legitimate expectation that the loan car users had authority to enter into parking agreements on Tesla’s behalf. The agreements must therefore be regarded as having been entered into by the loan car users themselves.

Outside contractual relationships, there is no general duty to safeguard the financial interests of others. Nor is Tesla under any obligation to disclose the identity of the persons to whom the cars were loaned so that the parking companies may invoice the drivers directly. Tesla has legitimate reasons for not disclosing information about its customers. Accordingly, the company can neither be required to pay damages nor to disclose the requested information.

The judgment clarifies that car owners are, as a general rule, not liable for parking charges incurred by loan car users.
 
Read the judgment (Norwegian only) (PDF)

Areas of law: Contract law. Tort law.

Key paragraphs: 37–38, 45, 57–59

Justices: Webster, Falch, Steinsvik, Stenvik og Poulsen