In Allen v. Hyatt Regency-Nashville Hotel, 668 S.W.2d 286 (Tenn. 1984), the Tennessee Supreme Court held that a commercial parking garage operator was liable for a car stolen from its facility because the arrangement created a bailment, and the operator could not rebut the resulting presumption of negligence.1Justia. Allen v. Hyatt Regency-Nashville Hotel
What Happened
The plaintiff’s husband drove into a parking garage operated by the Hyatt Regency-Nashville, took an automatically dispensed ticket, parked on an upper level, locked the car, and went into the hotel. When he came back, the car was gone. It was never recovered. The owner sued the hotel for the value of the vehicle.1Justia. Allen v. Hyatt Regency-Nashville Hotel
Why the Court Found a Bailment Instead of a License to Park
A bailment arises when one person delivers personal property to another for a specific purpose and the recipient takes possession and control of it. A license to park, by contrast, is simply permission to occupy a space; the operator never takes charge of the car. If the arrangement is a bailment, the operator owes a duty of reasonable care and must return the property when the service ends.2Justia. Dispeker v. New Southern Hotel Co.
The court worked through the physical setup of the Hyatt garage to decide which category applied. The structure was enclosed and multi-story, with a single entrance controlled by a ticket machine and barrier gate and a single exit monitored by an attendant in a booth. Security guards patrolled the premises. The driver kept his own keys, and the ticket was used to calculate the fee rather than to identify a specific vehicle, but the court concluded that the garage’s layout and staffing meant the operator had effectively taken charge of the cars inside. That was enough to create a bailment.1Justia. Allen v. Hyatt Regency-Nashville Hotel
How the Burden of Proof Decided the Case
Once a bailment is established in Tennessee, proof that the property was delivered in good condition and not returned is prima facie evidence of the bailee’s negligence. The burden then shifts to the business to show it was not at fault.3Justia. Tennessee Code § 24-5-111
The hotel could not account for how the car left a facility with one controlled entrance, one attended exit, and roving security. Because it did not rebut the presumption, the court affirmed judgment for the owner.1Justia. Allen v. Hyatt Regency-Nashville Hotel
Why the Decision Still Matters
Allen is the Tennessee case cited for the rule that an enclosed, attended commercial garage takes custody of the vehicles inside it, even when the driver keeps the keys and the ticket is just a timing stub. A customer who proves delivery and non-return does not have to prove how the theft occurred; the operator has to explain itself. Open surface lots without attendants or controlled exits generally sit on the other side of that line and are treated as licenses to park rather than bailments.