Patrick borrowed his friend John’s car to impress a young lady he was dating. It was a
new luxury car that John had saved four years
to purchase. The paint on the car turned colors
under various climatic and light conditions.
While on the date, Patrick drove the car down a
public road that had just been repaved with hot
oil and gravel. The result was streaks of hot oil
glued to the sides of the car and several nicks in
the paint from flying rocks. Patrick then parked
in front of his favorite restaurant, a sports pub
on the far side of town. While in the restaurant,
Patrick heard a special weather report that a
thunderstorm with large hail was sweeping
across the area and would arrive over the restaurant in ten minutes. Unfortunately for John’s
car, the date was going too well to break off
and move the car under cover. Consequently,
the hail left a multitude of pock marks on the
top of the car. Is Patrick legally responsible for
the damage done by the gravel, oil, and hail?
Why or why not?