Appeals court hears argument to vacate judgment in Amherst Zipcar injury case

An appellate panel heard arguments in Elizabeth Werner v. 57 East Pleasant Street LLC et al., Docket No. 2024-0475, over whether the lower court correctly entered judgment for the defendants in a case stemming from a 2017 pedestrian collision on Triangle Street in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Counsel for the plaintiff told the court the judgment should be vacated because (1) the trial court misapplied the law identifying the duty owed, (2) the defendants assumed a duty when they provided substitute instructions for returning the vehicle, and (3) factual disputes about causation should have been decided by a jury. "This court should vacate the judgment for 3 reasons," said Counsel for Elizabeth Werner (unnamed in the transcript).

Why it matters: the case turns on the legal question of whether an off-street parking provider or a vehicle-share operator can be held responsible, as a matter of law, for directing customers into positions that create foreseeable risks on an adjacent public roadway. If the appeals court finds a duty…