The appellants, plaintiffs below, challenge the dismissal with prejudice of those counts of their second amended complaint, which alleged negligence against Appellees U-Haul of West Coast Florida, Inc. and Don Olson Firestone, Inc., for failure to state a cause of action. We affirm the dismissal of U-Haul but reverse the dismissal of Firestone.
To state a cause of action in negligence, a complaint must allege ultimate facts which establish a relationship between the parties giving rise to a legal duty in the defendant to protect the plaintiff from the injury of which he now complains. Ankers v. District School Bd. of Pasco County,
We believe the second amended complaint stated a cause of action in negligence against Firestone. The second amended complaint alleged that Appellee Wyatt Northcutt was the driver of a vehicle towing a U-Haul trailer rented to him by Firestone, a franchisee of U-Haul. The complaint alleged that as a result of defects in the towing vehicle and rented trailer, Mr. Northcutt lost control of the vehicle and trailer and collided with the appellants’ vehicle, causing injuries to the appellants. The appellants also alleged that Firestone had a duty under the terms of the franchise agreement to rent trailers that were free of defects, and to inspect vehicles intended to tow the trailers to determine that they were safe.
The existence of a duty in an action for negligence is a question of law. McCain v. Florida Power Corp.,
The second amended complaint alleged that the towing vehicle presented to Firestone by Mr. Northcutt had obvious defects including worn and underinflated tires, a nail in one tire, a worn and weak bumper, and an improperly secured trailer hitch. The complaint alleged that the defects in the vehicle were so open and obvious that Firestone had actual knowledge of them. The complaint also alleged that the trailer rented to Mr. Northcutt had worn tires and was in an unsafe condition. The franchise agreement attached to the complaint required Firestone to perform a “rentalwor-
The next inquiry is whether the complaint alleged a negligent breach of the duty, and an injury proximately caused by that breach. See Ankers,
We agree with the trial court that the appellants failed to state a cause of action in negligence against U-Haul. The appellants failed to allege facts which would establish a duty owed to them by U-Haul. Furthermore, the appellants attempted to allege liability on the part of U-Haul under a theory of apparent agency. Under the doctrine of apparent agency, if a principal has held an agent out as being possessed of the requisite authority, and a third person is aware of this authority and has relied on it to his detriment, the principal is estopped from denying the agency relationship. Sapp v. City of Tallahassee,
Finally, we agree with the appellants that the trial court erred in striking the franchise agreement attached to the complaint since it is material to the issues of duty and foreseeability.
In summary, we affirm the trial court’s order which dismisses with prejudice the claim against U-Haul. We reverse the order which dismisses the complaint against Firestone, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. We affirm the orders in all other respects.
Affirmed in part; reversed in part and remanded.
