I'm being sued over a crash my mother had in my car — why am I the defendant?

Q: Can I be sued in New York for an accident when someone else was driving my car?

Yes, and it is ordinary rather than unusual. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 388(1) makes every owner of a vehicle used or operated in New York liable and responsible for death or injuries to person or property resulting from negligence in the use or operation of that vehicle by any person using or operating it with the owner's permission, express or implied. The liability attaches through ownership and permission, so it does not depend on the owner having been present, having done anything careless, or having known how the driver would drive. Because implied permission counts, the owner of a family vehicle is typically named in the lawsuit alongside the driver. What remains contestable is the underlying negligence: if the person driving was not negligent, the liability § 388(1) creates has nothing to attach to.

Q: What does "permission, express or implied" mean under Vehicle and Traffic Law § 388(1)?

Express permission is what it sounds like — the owner said the person could use the car. Implied permission is inferred from the circumstances, such as a pattern of use the owner knows about and does not object to, or keys kept where a household member is expected to take them. The statute treats both the same way, which is why owners are often surprised to find themselves defendants. The question in a contested case is whether the owner gave permission at all, and how far it extended, and that is a factual inquiry rather than something a page can resolve. If you believe the vehicle was taken without your permission, that is a point to raise with your insurer and your attorney at once, because it goes to the heart of what § 388(1) requires.

Q: What should I do first when I am served with a lawsuit over a car accident in New York?

Two things, and both immediately. Send the summons and complaint to your automobile insurer, because liability policies ordinarily include a duty to defend and contain notice conditions that a lawsuit triggers; late notice can jeopardize coverage. Then get the papers in front of a New York attorney. A response to a complaint has a deadline set by the papers and the court rules, and preparing one is legal drafting rather than form-filling; a missed deadline can result in a default judgment, which is a judgment entered without the case being heard. Do not respond directly to the other party, their lawyer or their insurer, and do not assume that being right about the accident means the lawsuit will take care of itself.

Question

So I'm being sued for an auto accident that was not my fault. I want my mom drive my car that was registered and insured in my name, so I'm being sued for that by the other party.

A. Jason Velez · Accepted Answer

You are being sued because you owned the car, not because you were driving it. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 388(1) makes the owner of a vehicle answerable for injuries caused by the negligence of anyone using it with the owner's permission, express or implied. Your own care is not the issue; the driver's is. Two things need to happen quickly: the papers go to your insurer, and they go to a New York attorney — a lawsuit already on file has a deadline to respond that is set by the papers and the court rules, and letting it pass can produce a judgment against you without a hearing. The section is short about it. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 388(1) provides: "Every owner of a vehicle used or operated in this state shall be liable and responsible for death or injuries to person or property resulting from negligence in the use or operation of such vehicle, in the business of such owner or otherwise, by any person using or operating the same with the permission, express or implied, of such owner." Permission that is implied counts as much as permission that is spoken, and it is read broadly — which is why the registered, insured owner of a family car is routinely named alongside the driver. What that means in practice is that the fight is about the driving, not about you. If the collision was not the fault of the person driving your car, then the negligence § 388(1) depends on is missing, and the defense belongs to the facts: what each driver did, what the roadway and traffic were, what any independent witness saw. Being sued is not a finding, and the other party's version is not evidence until it is proved. Your automobile policy is the other half of this. Liability policies ordinarily contain a duty to defend as well as to pay, and they contain notice conditions that a lawsuit triggers. Those are contract terms rather than statutes, so what yours provides is a question about your policy and one for the insurer to answer in writing — but the practical rule is the same in every case: a summons and complaint goes to the carrier immediately, not after a few weeks of thinking about it. What the lawsuit actually claims will decide the rest. A suit for damage to a vehicle and a suit for a personal injury are not governed by the same New York rules, and your message does not say which this is. That classification, and the further rules that follow from it, is something a New York attorney should settle by reading the complaint rather than something to guess at from the outside. What you can do 1. Send the summons and complaint to your insurer today, by a method that gives you proof of delivery, and keep a copy of everything. 2. Bring the papers to a New York attorney immediately. The time to respond is fixed by the papers and the court rules, and a response to a complaint is a lawyer's drafting job, not a form to fill in — a missed deadline can result in a default judgment. 3. Ask the insurer to confirm in writing that it is providing a defense, and ask your attorney what your policy limits are and what happens if the claim exceeds them. 4. Preserve what already exists: the registration and insurance records, the police report, photographs, repair estimates and any correspondence about the collision. 5. Do not discuss the accident with the other party, their attorney or their insurer — direct them to your carrier or your lawyer. ⏱ Time limits apply. Two different clocks matter here and they are easy to confuse. The claim against you was subject to CPLR 214, which allows three years from the date of the collision for a personal injury action under CPLR 214(5) and three years for injury to property under CPLR 214(4). The deadline that is urgent now is different: it is the time to respond to the papers you were served with, and it comes from those papers and the court rules rather than from any statute described here. This page cannot calculate either one for you. Take the summons to a local New York attorney straight away; most offer a short initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your own facts is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

I'm being sued over a crash my mother had in my car — why am I the defendant?

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