50-50 blame for buyers and sellers of new vehicles if accident occurs during delivery

The Court of Appeal has opened doors for motor vehicle sellers to bear responsibility for accidents caused by their drivers while delivering new cars to clients.

It is presumed that the buyer ought to shoulder liability for anything that happens once ownership of the vehicle changes hands but the court decided that both the seller and the buyer ought to take responsibility of an accident that happens before the buyer receives the car.

For the buyer, the blame is not on the purchase but trusting the seller to deliver the car safely without ascertaining whether the driver is careful or not.

For a seller, the blame is on owing a duty to care for a client’s vehicle until it is delivered.

The battle between Equator Distributors and Associated Motors was on who between them ought to bear the burden of an accident that happened in 1999.

Equator had bought a lorry from Associated Motors. It was agreed between the two that the vehicle would be delivered to Voi from Nairobi.

On April 10, 1999, Associated Motors driver Evans Kinyanjui started his journey to deliver the new vehicle but upon reaching Makindu, he hit a car owned by Al Malik Brothers, killing four people instantly.

Appeal Court judges found that the two firms were equally to blame and ordered that they bear the liability and costs of the case.

“We e make a finding that the third respondent is vicariously liable for the negligence of the second respondent (its driver),” the judges said.