Project 1: Introduction to the Legal Environment of Business

Carz Bazaar

Notice: Contains Confidential Information

Colossal Company subsidiary Carz Bazaar, a

new and used car dealership, hired Charles

Wilson to perform various duties, such as

cleaning and gassing vehicles, moving

vehicles from one lot to another, and

maintaining the showroom and vehicle lots.

Course Resource

In this position, Wilson had access to keys

to the vehicles through a key-control

procedure. Under this procedure, an

attendant keeps the keys in a control shack.

When any employee wants to move a

company vehicle, the attendant inputs

information into a template request form.

The information includes the date, time,

stock number of the vehicle, name of the

employee checking out the vehicle, and the

destination of the vehicle. For example, the

vehicle might be taken to a body shop for

repairs, to a gas station, or to a company lot

at a different location. Every time an

employee checks out a vehicle, the reason

must be for company business use. It is not

necessary to put the expected return time

on the form unless a vehicle was expected

to be gone for a long time. Once the

attendant has completed the form, she

gives the keys to the employee who has

requested them. When the vehicle is

returned, the attendant indicates in the log

that the vehicle was returned and replaces

the keys. Sometimes vehicles are gone for

more than one day. Some vehicles may be

removed permanently if they are sold from

another lot. In these cases, the managers of

the other lots call to let the attendant know

that the vehicle will not be coming back.

Sometimes employees drive cars back and

leave the keys with other employees to

return to the attendant. This practice was

acceptable to the dealership.

One day when Gina Mitchell was the

attendant in charge, Wilson asked her if he

could use a car for 30 minutes on his lunch

break to go to his mother's house. The

attendant told him it was okay as long as he

brought it back because, otherwise, she

could get in trouble. Since Wilson only

wanted the car for 30 minutes and she

trusted him, she did not make any entry

about this trip on the computer. Wilson

took the car and left. On his way back to the

dealership, Wilson rear-ended a car stopped

at a stop light, causing injuries to the driver

and a passenger. Wilson told a police officer

at the scene of the accident that he was on

a lunch break from his job and that he had

permission to drive the car, but his boss was

not aware he had the car.

The injured driver and passenger sued Carz

Bazaar on the grounds that it was

responsible for the injuries caused by

Wilson.

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