(a)  The owner of a rented or leased motor vehicle shall be entitled to establish non-liability for parking violations by providing to the traffic tribunal or any municipality which has jurisdiction over parking tickets, a copy of a written rental or lease agreement which shall be prima facie evidence that the lessee was the operator of the vehicle.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 31-21-16

  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Motor vehicle: means any vehicle driven or drawn by mechanical power for use on the public streets, roads, and highways;

    (2)  "Odometer" means an instrument for measuring and recording the actual distance a motor vehicle travels while in operation;

    (3)  "Person" means any individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or business trust including, but not limited to, private individuals and motor vehicle dealers, both wholesale and retail, whether the private individual or dealer is a dealer in the ordinary course of business or not;

    (4)  "Repair and replacement" means to restore to a sound working condition by replacing the instrument or any part thereof or by correcting what is inoperative;

    (5)  "Transfer" means to acquire ownership by purchase, gift, bequest, or any other means. See Rhode Island General Laws 31-23.2-2

(b)  The issuing authority shall provide to the owner of a rented or leased vehicle a notice, in writing, of each parking violation in which a motor vehicle owned by the rental or leasing company is involved, including the license number of the vehicle and the date and time of the parking violation. Upon receipt of this notice the owner of a rented or leased vehicle shall inform the issuing authority, within twenty (20) days, to the extent available, the operator’s name, home address, employer, employer’s address, and local address, if any.

(c)  The renter or lessee shall not be considered an agent of the owner if the owner is engaged in the business of renting or leasing vehicles.

History of Section.
P.L. 1984, ch. 419, § 1.