Gene leaves her Honda Fit with Intown Motors for routine maintenance. On its return, the interior of the car is greasy and the exterior is scratched and dented. Who suffers the loss and why?

Answer 1

Intown Motors is liable as an ordinary bailee, which owes a duty to take proper care of property left in its charge. In this question, of course, the property is the car. To recover from a party who does not ful¬fill a required duty of care, an injured party—Gene, here—must prove the lack of care in most cases. In this problem, Intown Motors might contend that the car was in its present condition when left in the bailee's care. Under the law of bailments, proof of damage or loss—here, "before" and "after" photos might be sufficient—raises a pre¬sumption that a bailee is guilty of neg¬ligence or conver-sion, and the bailee must prove that he or she exercised due care.