*1 OFFICEOFTHE ATTORNEY GENERALOFmXAG
AUSTIN
Hoh. Julian Moatgomery
State Iiighway Engintier Austin, TsX.68
Dear sirr
opinion x0. 04105 We ar8 in reoei
1940, in whioh you r8qus
mexlt on the folludng
for the tit1
agent of a inxe und in eeoh tmm gPfarly operate In the buses of his ccm- on purposes?
a the mm rule apply to 8 of freight &lee?
s the district or branch mana@%r refining coqmny, or a wholesale grooery conoern the *ownert of the vehlole8 definitely aeaigned to that district or branah for'regietratlcn purposes?" *2 ETonorable Julian Efontgcrmery, page S
Article 6676a-1 cf Verncn*s ¬ated Civil
Statutes provides, in part, as follows:
*'(11 *Owner* meti any pareon who holds the legal title cf s vehiofc or who has the legal right of pooeaesslon %herecf, cr the legal right of ocntrcl of.safd vehicle.* Artlule 6676a-8 of Vernonss Annotsted Oir5.1 Statutes provides., in part, as rdmtet
wEvery owner of amctar vehiule, trailer or sezal-trailer used .cr to be used upcri the pub110 hi&my% of this@tste, m&each ohaufteur, shall 'apply eaoh~yaar tothe State Eighway JIepartmnt thrcugh ,the God&y Tati Cclleotcr~cf~tha 0~cuntY'S.n which he. resides $or the mgistrati~:ef'eaoh suoh rehiole owned or oontrclled'b7 hip, or:fw'a ohaufc fear*8 license, ~fcr:'the'eksaLag q'curzent calendar year cr tznerplx%d portion themof;. +**" Thh cM?$sr&& ma&ad ‘in Opinion .Bc.~ .6+X%0
that uuder the roig~stra~l~ h&utes a“mctcX v@&ole. oould be reglstels6 in sither'the ecu&y cf %ht&l~al title holdef*s realdenoe ac.+n"the. ocontYcf se~s&Iehoa of a person wkic hes the legal tight of ocntrel 'er legsl~ right of possession ever th8 motor vehloxe. 'Ycu are now oCnoertieU:with the 48iinititXcf the t&22@ *legal right ti~pcsss&s~cn* an4 *legal right Of ocntrale for purposes c?’ hetsrnilnlng what individuals tight cane within such Qetiniticn.
In defln%ng the te2+.*legal right cf posses- sion* and "legal right cf~oc&cl~ it ie necessary tc look to the statute% Ln which the saue as% used. Gaid terms do not haves set deifnftien lr'law but oaa only moan a certain thing beoanse of the sense in which they are u65a in a pavtlcuLar statute,
The temaelegal possesscxe is defineal in Words h Phrases (5th Series), Oh+ 9, p. 947, a6 fcllcws:
~Phm.se *leaal pcm3eafmr*, as referred *3 to in maticm I,84 of the Lien Law not la- tended to maan every pereon who might be Legally or lawfully in pcsaessicn. Th0 --few wa8 use6 in the em&e of one who but fOr the rer#naficn @ atri* 18e;al t&8 in o,undit~nkl *eailcr, or th8 giving of 6' atri& legal tit10 to a ~hattelmcrtgagee,
. General Xctcre Aaaeptanoe Ccr-
pcrzitlc~ vs+ Balcar, 891 ipes 1015, 1019, 1.61 ?.Iim. zss.*
~3x1 line with the above quotation it .is cur cpbtlcn that t2ke 'him8 phyataa&'pcs88saicn of a motof rehitxle bran lmllvldtml d~oes not tcr r8glstrtxticn pur- poses put hinx in. t&8 ~eat*gc~,~of on8 who hwf tht~Zega1 right of pcss8salon'ar thq legal ri~ght cf ccntrcl over th8 motor vehlole, -'9!h8 suprexm court cfInd.la.tk'fn tht ,aam.cS’mJJaJse~~8. STAZk& 76 2f.E. 876, 6tatbB; . 66 folltiws -fn thli ~wanneatiem
.T[f is 6ai6 3.u BialcQ'8 zbw c&m2 Law, SW. 6%~ %mrm any~~wrmn, +&her servant aa*r '0&m&8 * +r0 of amtrb~~'6 p c888srion.~ oWerv88 g hst, cwiler, an4 tlm. party a aJr be larceny in frayhlent- fe hla cwn use.** Ahother a6finitiaa.0t the term *legal posses~c~ was given by ~h8'SuprkImCcurt of Califcmia in ~the Oust of qVIST v'8.'XILL, 99 Pao. 204. The ocurt st6t0U all f0llcwix:
what isawukt Ityth8 t8Km (legal pot+ mmcr of theproprtp* %n the seoticn is ' one who has the tight by rlrtucr of his pcs- sesalcn tc oripiaally oomtra&t~wLth reierenoe to the.zeamfaetum%, alteration, 01: re~$air thereof, 8uoh,as, ror e-la, a~l8ssse OCR pled&e cfthe pmperty; scpa6 one having a pcseessicn oc&pI.ed with a right cf property 80 that38 aan ooatraot iith ~eeterenod to It resgeoting eny of the ~rattwrs e~tlmsPeted in *4 Eon. fullan'hkmtgomery, p'ags 4
the ssotlon,"
!J!he ease of BAtR3lW.E vs. MIISTOBIE, '123 Atl. 69, Is authority for the faot that under tha motor rehiols registration statrttee.it 1s naossaary for the person eaeking to ragfeter a motar vahiola to hold in eaid vehicle not only temporarily but hill-hterctst with som dagme of permamncy. The court stated as to11owst
-In Berry on Autcmmbi~ee (3rd Ed.) Sec. S?xS, cited by appellant, it la said2 "'i4,statute requiring the "ownor or aus- todiauI?R of an automobile to reg;istsr the sm within'.q:oertain number at days after **ad- qairing** it, has referenoe to persuns hating an l&dependent and permanent interest~ln cm automobila~, and does not lnoluda~a~aamant er a person hariag only temporary ctitrol theraof.* *It fs a oard&al priuoiple that stat- utes amst bS oonstrrurd rsaeazably and with reference to tha purpose8 nought to be .aoeom- plishad by-them.
%4mtion 134 of artiola S&of the Coda, es amended by Lswe 1920, a. 50S, deffnd 'owner* 68 followau
**The term **owner** ehall inelude any person, firm, assooiation or oorporation own- ing a motor vehlola or having the exoluaits usa thereof, under uontraot of purohase, lease, hiring or rental thereof, er otherwise.* 9'0 hold that tha Lsginlature meant to inalade in this deflaltlon a person hiring an autcmobi s for a f puts to t an intan i&T: $&ah atw~~duir f @Ii "f of suoh vehlcXe by any ona whose posssaston was to continue for only cash a short tim6, for obviously it ymld be impraotioable m at letaat tmreasoaable, to require registratlan *5 Ion. Julian Montgomery, page 5
or titling by such a person. It would, of
COUTBe , equally prohibit the business or own- ing automobiles for hire.*
In looking to the surposa behind the legis- lative deriniti022 or the term *ownerR it is our opin- ion that ,the,legislature intended to provide a method whereby motor vehicles which are Stationed in D. par- ticular oounty ror the greater portion 0r a registra- tlon year in the possession and oontrol of an indirid- ual who Is a resident of that County, who has all the rights in the motor vehicle that the owner would have with the exception of legal title could be registered in the acunty of such Individual*8 residenoe. With this legislative purpose in mind it is cur opinion that the terms wlegsl right of pos54sslon~ and *legal right of oontrol* mean something more than the actual phpaical posaeoslon by an agent or eervant. We think that the terms imply Such possession or control to be with a degree of permanency through out the~rtgistratlon year and not (18 a temporary matter.. A person who oan be clsaaed asp having either legal right of poSsession or legal right or oontrol would b4 on4 who wo&d Set that the motor vehicle is kept in repair and i8 operat- ed in good condition, and would be entrusted wS.th its oart. In other words, our opinion of said tewa would preclude a person who has only the physical posseseion or physical control of a motor vehicle, but would in- clude a person who haa all rights in the motor vehicle as to its control end operation, use and management but who does not have legal title. Our definition is further quallried that suoh possession or control would have to be of a permanent nature or not one subject to being divested at any time by the legal titleholder within the reasonable expeotetion of the parties at the time or the registration of-the motor vehicle. In line with the above discussian yIe will endeavor to anever the questions you have propounded.
In ansaer to your rirst question it is our opinion that a truth or bus driver who is employed under the state of feotfi which you eubmit would not qualify as one having the legal right of possession or legal right of Control so a8 to be considered an a~~neP rOX
Eon. Julian Xontgomery, page 6
purpofm of motor vehicle registration.
In answer to your aeoond question it is our
oplnlon that a local tloketi agent of a bus company would not have a legal right of possession or legal right of control over the busses which regularly pass through his town. The exeepfion to this would be a aasa where by sun4 lnstrumnt in the form of a lease or bailment, said ticket agent would be given such legal right 0r aontrol or legal right or possession.
In this conneotion, howaver, such an instrument drswn up ror purposes of evasion of the motor vahicle ragi- tration law above quoted would not of itself suffice to make such parson an *owner'* within the meaning of the registration IT4 think that the saxaa rule statute. would apply to the local agents or freight lines as would apply to looal ticket agent of a bus liua. It is~concelvablt, however, that the local agent of a freight lim under the rules stated previously might be COnsidSred an '0m4z*, for r4gistration purposes, of the pick up truoks parmauantly stationed in his county over which ha is glrtn legal right of coutrol or legal right of.pos8esslon.
III tnswsr to your third queetion it is o& opinion that if the faots were suoh as to bring a dia- trlot or branch manager with the rules sud qualifica- tions set out prtviously that he could be an ewntr of the VehiOh~ Of his oanpeny for ZegiStratioh purposek3. We believe that the statutes wert dttigntd to allow the motor vehicle6 belonging to a company whioh war4 permanently located in a particular couuty and therein under the complete control end etlptrrision of en agent or branoh wsmger who was a resident of said oouuty to allow the registrat&m of f&x& motor vehlolee in said oounty. We think this would be true even though the vehicles located in that oounty war4 also us& Ln ad- joining oountiee but ware under the oontrol and posees- sion and supervision 6f this branch agents in the oentral county.
Whether or not a persoa qualifies as an owner under the mote registration statutes would in eaah ease
z
Bon. Julian Eontgcmery, pegs 7
depend upon the particular faots. It la our opinion however th6t the rules and qualifications set out prari;xlsly should o.~~@z$ze the correot legal test to which the tact6 muat cctmply before a ,pereon w-id be 80 qualified QEI en %wner* for registration purposes.
Yours vary fruly BO:ob