§ 28-7 Motor Vehicles - Joint Enterprise

• Library: South Carolina Requests to Charge - Civil (SCBar) (2016 Ed.)

§ 28-7 Motor Vehicles - Joint Enterprise

A legal theory that acts by imputing the negligence of one party to another party is the doctrine of joint enterprise.

In order to constitute a joint or common enterprise so that the negligence of the driver of an automobile may be imputed to an occupant of the vehicle, there must be a common purpose and a community of interest in the object of the enterprise and an equal right to direct and control the conduct of each other with respect thereto. That is, the passenger, as well as the driver, must be entitled to a voice in the control and direction of the vehicle. When the liability of the driver is sought to be imputed to the passenger, the test of joint enterprise is whether the passenger had any control over the management of the vehicle. The first element that must be found to be present before two parties can be said to be engaged in a joint enterprise is that they must have some common purpose of pleasure or profit, and must be acting toward the accomplishment of this purpose at the time when the relationship is sought to be established.

In other words, to establish...