Joyride Tuscaloosa Found Not Liable in Transportation Negligence Case Involving Woman’s Fall from Golf Cart

In October 2019, Anne Alex was a senior at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The university offered a transportation service through Joyride Tuscaloosa, LLC, which provided street-legal golf carts for student rides around campus. The vehicles were specially licensed, traveled at low speeds, and featured safety items like seatbelts, headlights, turn signals, and mirrors.

On the evening of October 17, 2019, Alex and her friends were at a downtown bar, “The Booth.” They stayed there until after the last call, around 1:45 a.m., and remained at the bar into the early hours of October 18. At that point, Alex and two friends decided to call for a ride from Joyride Tuscaloosa.

The driver arrived in the parking lot next to the bar, and the group boarded the vehicle, with Alex sitting in the right rear seat. The driver later claimed he checked that all passengers were wearing seatbelts, though it was later revealed that Alex was not. He then started driving and made a low-speed U-turn. During the turn, Alex fell out of the vehicle onto the pavement.

The driver immediately stopped and went to retrieve Alex. He later stated that she appeared uninjured, though he offered her medical help. Alex declined and asked to be taken home. A security camera in a nearby parking lot captured the entire incident.

The driver followed Alex’s request and drove her home.

Alex filed a lawsuit against Joyride Tuscaloosa, holding the company responsible for its driver’s failure to ensure she was secure before attempting the U-turn. When it was revealed that Joyride Tuscaloosa’s liability insurance carrier was insolvent, Alex filed an uninsured motorist claim with her parents’ insurer, Allstate.

However, Allstate denied her claim. As a result, Alex included counts for negligence, wantonness, uninsured motorist coverage, bad faith, and breach of contract in the lawsuit. She later dropped the bad faith claim.

The case proceeded with the remaining allegations. Allstate chose to withdraw from the case but requested that its attorneys be allowed to “drop-down” and defend Joyride Tuscaloosa. The court granted this request.

Joyride Tuscaloosa defended itself by denying any negligence or responsibility for Alex’s claimed injuries. The company argued comparative negligence and claimed Alex was to blame for the incident because she hadn’t worn her seatbelt. Both sides believed the video footage of the event supported their respective positions.

The case was tried over three days in Tuscaloosa. At the end of the evidence, the court directed a verdict in favor of Joyride Tuscaloosa on the wantonness claim.

The jury then deliberated on the remaining counts and returned a unanimous verdict for Joyride Tuscaloosa on August 14, 2024. As a result, the court issued a judgment in favor of the defense.