Flores

In Osborn v. Hertz Corp. (1988) 205 Cal.App.3d 703 [ 252 Cal.Rptr. 613 ] (Osborn), the court held that (1) a rental car agency is not liable for negligent entrustment when it rents a car to a validly licensed driver who shows no sign of unfitness to drive (id. at p. 713); (2) an agency has no duty to inquire into the driving record of the renter by asking a series of questions concerning, inter alia, whether the renter has previously been convicted of driving under the influence (id. at p. 710); and (3) absent a legislative declaration that persons convicted of driving under the influence or whose license was previously revoked or suspended are ineligible to rent a vehicle, the rental agency is entitled to rely on the renter’s presentation of a valid driver’s license as sufficient evidence of fitness to drive (id. at p. 711).

In this case, we consider whether, in light of the availability of electronic driver’s license checks, Osborn should be revisited so as to impose on rental car companies the duty to make an electronic search of the driving records of their customers to determine their fitness to drive. We conclude that the rationale of Osborn remains persuasive,…