Written by J. Jay Young and Corey A. Tavel | New York Law Journal | August 25, 2005.

VICARIOUS LIABILITY OF RENTAL FIRMS PREEMPTED BY FEDERAL LAW

On Aug. 10, 2005, accident victims injured due to the negligence of a rental or leased vehicle operator lost a major avenue of recovery with the passage of H.R. 3—The Transportation Equity Act. The new federal law is ostensibly a transportation enactment, providing tremendous funding for substantial highway improvements throughout the 50 states.