News

Food truck customer injured in explosion loses appeals court fight

February 11, 2019

An Indiana appeals court has thrown out a negligence suit brought by a man was injured in the explosion of a food truck operating at a salvage yard.

The court ruled in German A. Linares v. El Tacarajo and U-Pull-And-Pay, LLC d/b/a Pic A Part, 18A-CT-276, that the explosion at theEl Tacarajo taco truck, which occurred on the premises of the U-Pull-And-Pay salvage yard, was not reasonably foreseeable, hence the property owner could not be held liable in the accident, according to a report by the Indiana Lawyer.

Linares had filed suit against both the truck operator and the salvage business, claiming that the salvage yard did not conduct due diligence in investigating the truck's operations and that it should be held liable as the taco truck was a joint venture operation with the salvage yard.

However, the appeals court held that Linares' injuries were the result of truck employees using the stove, and that the truck and salvage yard were not engaged in a joint venture given that they did not have a profit-sharing agreement or make joint decisions regarding food operations.

According to the report, Judge Margret Robb wrote in the decision: "Should food trucks be inspected? Probably. Should UPAP have taken more interest in a mobile business it allowed to operate on its premises and sell to its customers? Possibly."

In a dissenting opinion, Judge James Kirsch wrote that determination of liability should be made by a jury.