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Craster v. Thrifty Rent-A-Car System9/29/2005
In this action, plaintiff, a citizen of England, filed a Complaint against Thrifty Rent-A-Car System, Inc., and others, alleging that she entered into a rental car agreement and insurance agreement with defendants while on vacation in the United States (in Georgia), and that after being involved in an accident in the rental car while in Tennessee, defendants failed to provide any insurance coverage. She further alleged that her companion, Alison Ball, also entered into the same contractual relationship with and through Thrifty, and that Ball was driving the rental car when she negligently caused an accident which resulted in severe injuries to plaintiff. Plaintiff alleged that through Thrifty, she chose to purchase liability insurance through Empire Fire & Marine Insurance Company, and supplemental liability insurance through Reliance Insurance Company, and Thrifty acted not only as a car rental agent, but also as an insurance agent.
She further alleged breach of contract, bad faith, and violations of the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act, and the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act. Further, that Thrifty was guilty of negligent and/or fraudulent misrepresentation and inducement to enter into the contract due to its misrepresentations regarding the insurance coverage. She attached the rental agreement and a purported copy of the supplemental liability insurance agreement as exhibits to the Complaint.
Thrifty answered, admitting that plaintiff entered into a rental car agreement, but that the agreement was with Thrifty's licensee, Courtesy Rentals, Inc, rather than Thrifty. Defendant denied or claimed no knowledge of the other allegations in the Complaint, and asserted the defenses of lack of jurisdiction, improper venue, failure to state a claim, and statute of limitations.
Plaintiff then filed a Motion for Declaratory Judgment, asking the Court to construe the terms of the contract in question, and determine who were the proper parties to the Contract, along with a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, asking the Court to rule that defendant was a party to the contract in question, that the Court had jurisdiction, and that the contract required defendant to indemnify Ball and/or provide benefits to plaintiff for her injuries.
Thrifty filed a response to plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, as well as its own Motion for Summary Judgment, and attached an Affidavit of James Nelson, who stated that he was president of Courtesy Rentals, Inc., which is a Georgia corporation, and that the transactions between plaintiff and Courtesy occurred in Georgia. He stated that Courtesy is a licensee of Thrifty, that Thrifty has no ownership in the licensee. He stated that Thrifty allowed Courtesy to use its name and reservation system in exchange for payment of a license fee.
He further stated that on July 10, 2000, Courtesy entered into a rental agreement with plaintiff, Alison Ball, Peter Holling, John Felstead, and Ruth Erlemann, but that Thrifty was not a party to the agreement. The rental agreement was attached as Exhibits, which consisted of the rental statement and the separate rental jacket. Nelson stated the renters were given a copy of both documents at the time the rental statement was signed, and that plaintiff initialed the portions of the contract indicating that she accepted PDW (physical damage waiver) and SLI (supplemental liability insurance) but declined PAI (personal accident insurance).
He pointed out that the first paragraph of the rental jacket states that the agreement is between the renter and an independent licensee of Thrifty, which is Courtesy, and he stated that Paragraph 10 of the rental jacket states
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