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Otwell v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Co.10/26/2005
lity. In their petition for damages, plaintiffs alleged that the Lonidiers were aware of Brandon's "predisposition to use and abuse alcohol and controlled dangerous substances," yet, they left him "unattended at the family home . . .." In their brief to this court, plaintiffs contend the Lonidiers "failed to supervise the use of their home before they failed to supervise the use of the automobile," therefore, the lack of supervision " is independent of, and supercedes the use of, an automobile."
While we recognize that parents have a general duty to supervise their minor children, it is clear that no personal injuries would have resulted to Cory and his parents absent the actual use of the automobile. It is undisputed that the unsupervised Brandon hosted a party at his parent's home while they were out of town. Nevertheless, at the time of the accident, Brandon was using and operating an automobile, and the duty of the Lonidiers and Brandon to Cory Otwell flowed from that use of the automobile. The duty was breached by Brandon's operation of the vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs and failure to operate the vehicle in a prudent manner. Thus, the "use" of the vehicle was a critical and essential element of this case. Accordingly, the trial court's ruling is affirmed.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, the judgment of the trial court granting the motion for summary judgment filed by State Farm is hereby affirmed. Costs of this appeal are assessed to the appellants.
AFFIRMED.
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