Kabir Halim sued for injuries he allegedly suffered when Koreem Campbell, the driver of the car in which he was riding as a passenger, lost control of the car and crashed. The car was owned by Ken Thomas of Georgia, Inc. d/b/a Ken Thomas BMW Acura Ken Thomas, which loaned the car to Campbell to use while Ken Thomas serviced Campbell’s car. Halim sued Campbell and Ken Thomas claiming that Campbell recklessly drove the car off the road at a high rate of speed causing it to flip over numerous times, and that Ken Thomas negligently entrusted the car to Campbell. After deposing Campbell, Halim dropped the negligent entrustment claim against Ken Thomas and alleged that the crash occurred because “the steering on the vehicle pulled sharply to the left causing the vehicle to enter the median and flip over multiple times.” Based on the allegation that a malfunction in the car’s steering caused the accident, Halim added claims against Ken Thomas that the car was unsafe to drive and that Ken Thomas negligently failed to maintain or repair the car and negligently failed to warn of its unsafe condition. Halim also added a claim alleging that, even if there was a lack of evidence to establish his negligence claims, Ken Thomas was liable for his injuries under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur. The trial court granted Ken Thomas’s motion for summary judgment on Halim’s claim based on res ipsa loquitur, but denied the motion as to the negligence claims. We granted Ken Thomas’s application for an interlocutory appeal from the partial denial of its motion. For the following reasons, we find the trial court erred by denying Ken Thomas’s motion for summary judgment and reverse. In support of his negligence claims against Ken Thomas, Halim relies on Campbell’s deposition testimony. Campbell testified that at his request Ken Thomas gave him a loaner car while his car was being serviced. Campbell said he drove the loaner car about 20 miles from the Ken Thomas dealership to Fort Benning, where he and Halim were stationed as members of the U. S. Army, then picked up Halim as a passenger and drove back to the dealership in response to a call about the service on his car. The accident occurred as Campbell and Halim were driving back to Fort Benning from the dealership. Campbell was asked if he noticed any problems while driving the loaner car prior to the accident. Q. Did you detect anything at all in the car while you were driving it that gave you reason for concern A. No. Q. Were there any problems with the brakes A. Not to my recollection. Q. Were there any problems with the rear end or the front end that you noticed A. No. Q. Were there any unusual noises at all A. No. In describing the accident Campbell further testified that:
A. It was going straight, and then all of a sudden it just —I didn’t hear any —I don’t know what happened. It just popped and went to the side of the road . . .The steering wheel pulled to the left . . . enough that I couldn’t control it . . . It just shot to the left where, I mean, I really couldn’t control it . . . The steering wheel jerked real vigorously to the left. Emphasizing the sudden nature of the malfunction, Campbell also testified that, prior to the accident, he did not notice any problem with the car’s steering.
