Owner Liability for Driver's Negligence in Vehicle Custody

A driver, while operating a vehicle owned by another party, caused an accident resulting in injury to a passenger, leading the injured party to sue both the driver and the vehicle owner for damages. The appellate court affirmed a finding of liability against the owner based on the owner's responsibility for the custody of the vehicle, despite the owner's claim that the driver's act, being an autonomous act of an independent agent, should fully discharge the owner's liability. The high court upheld the decision, reasoning that the general responsibility for the custody of a thing, which caused damage, requires the owner to prove that the damage resulted from an unforeseeable and irresistible external cause, a condition which the owner failed to establish, thus maintaining the owner's liability for the actions of the driver operating the vehicle.