Tort Liability: Strict Liability and Vicarious Liability of a Lessor for its Lessee's Negligent

In any action for damages caused by a product, including, but not limited to, any action based on a theory of strict liability in tort, negligence or breach of implied warranty, except for commercial damage to the product itself, the manufacturer, designer or seller of the product shall not be liable if the claimant does not prove by the preponderance of the evidence that at the time the product left the control of the manufacturer, designer or seller the product is defective and meets certain other conditions. Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-63

"Vicarious Liability. Mississippi follows the general rules regarding respondeat superior, and an employer may be liable for the tortious acts of its employee committed in the scope of his employment. The basis of the liability is the employer's right to control the employee. See Fulcher v. Lynch Oil Co., 522 So. 2d 195 (Miss. 1988). Thus, a lessor is not vicariously liable for the acts of a lessee unless the lessor controls or has the right to control the actions of the lessee. See Starcher v. Byrne, 687 So. 2d 737 (Miss. 1997). Likewise, vicarious liability is not available if the lessee is simply an independent contractor for the lessor due to the lack of control over the independent contractor. However, when determining whether an individual is an employee or an independent contractor, one factor that will be considered is who supplied the equipment. See James W. Sessums Timber Co. v. McDaniel, 635 So. 2d 875, 881 (Miss. 1994).

Strict Liability. Unless the lessor is involved in an activity that is considered ultrahazardous, common law strict liability will not apply. See Comet Delta v. Pate Stevedore Co., 521 So. 2d 857 (Miss. 1988)."

A lease-to-own agreement could potentially subject the lessor to liability under the product liability statute if the lessor is construed as a seller, but there is no case law on this point.