Woman Wins Lawsuit; Registered Owner Not Liable

A woman who remained the registered owner of a vehicle after selling it has successfully defended a lawsuit arising from a serious accident that occurred years after she relinquished possession.

In a judgment delivered last week, Justice Robin Mohammed dismissed the claim brought by Ramjattan Lalchan against Heather Ramrattan. However, the judge upheld the case against Kevin Ramlal, the driver of the vehicle involved in the collision, who failed to defend the proceedings.

The lawsuit arose from an accident along Gandhi Village Road, Hermitage Settlement, Debe, on June 11, 2016. At the time, Lalchan’s son was driving when a Nissan Sunny driven by Ramlal collided with his vehicle.

Lalchan’s son testified that Ramlal asked him not to contact the police because he did not have valid insurance. He also claimed Ramlal offered to pay for the extensive damage, which was later assessed at $22,000.

After Ramlal failed to pay for the repairs, Lalchan filed the lawsuit and named Ramrattan as a defendant after learning she was the registered owner of the Nissan Sunny.

Ramrattan denied any wrongdoing, telling the court that she and her husband purchased the vehicle in 2002 but agreed to trade it in for a newer vehicle in October 2011. She said they surrendered the car to the owner of the newer vehicle and paid $35,000 to complete the transaction.

Ramrattan further claimed she completed the necessary transfer forms at the Licensing Authority and that the recipient of the vehicle was responsible for paying the transfer tax to finalise the process.

She said she was surprised to receive a court summons in 2016 relating to another accident involving the same vehicle in August 2015, noting that a different man—unknown to her—was identified as the owner in those proceedings.

In ruling on the matter, Justice Mohammed found that Lalchan had failed to establish any agency or employment relationship between Ramrattan and Ramlal that would make her jointly liable for the accident.

“There is no relationship established between the defendants. There is no evidence presented that the second defendant drove with the permission of the first defendant,” Justice Mohammed said.

Despite dismissing the claim against Ramrattan, the judge referenced Section 19 of the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act, which requires registered owners to record a transfer within seven days of a change in possession or face a $200 fine. Failure to register a transfer within 14 days is a criminal offence, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and six months’ imprisonment.

“As such, as the first defendant is still on record as the registered owner, she would be liable to pay the Licensing Authority,” the judge said.

The compensation payable by Ramlal will be assessed by a High Court Master at a later date.

Justice Mohammed also ordered Lalchan to pay Ramrattan’s legal costs for defending the claim.

Lalchan was represented by attorney Tosha Lutchman, while Ramrattan was represented by attorneys Andre Rajkumar and Michael Matthews.

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