ORLANDO, Fla. – Vince Hanson, a self-described Titan Motorsports fan, was waiting to pay the bill for the installation of a kit designed to make his 2011 Audi S4 supercharger faster, when anticipation turned into shock after he was told his car was involved in a crash while at the shop.
The Nov. 9, 2018 crash on Boggy Creek Road started as a routine test drive by Titan mechanic Michael Ian Bailey and ended in a collision. The Florida Highway Patrol report describes the crash cause as an “improper-unsafe-prohibited U-Turn.”
According to the report, Bailey never stopped before re-entering the roadway and crashed into the back of a truck.
Hanson said he assumed Titan Motorsports, an Orlando-based automotive tuning company, would cover the damages. Instead, CEO Nero Deliwala told Hanson a signed waiver protects the company from any liability.
“That doesn’t add up,” Hanson said. “They (Titan Motorsports) need to be accountable and they need to be responsible for it.”
The work order, signed on Nov. 2, 2018 that reads in part, “Titan Motorsports is not responsible for any damages to persons and/or property while located at the facility or while under the care of authorized employees or agents of the company.”
Orlando attorney Moses Dewitt, of the Dewitt law firm, reviewed the disclaimer and told News 6 the waiver does not protect Titan from negligence.
“It has to be absolutely 100 percent clear that when you sign that waiver, you are waiving negligence," Dewitt said. ”There’s a difference between a waiver for damage and a waiver for negligence … case law is pretty clear on that subject.”
Dewitt referred to a 1973 Florida Supreme Court decision that held “[a] contract of indemnity will not be construed to indemnify the indemnitee against losses resulting from his own negligent acts unless such intention is expressed in clear and unequivocal terms.”
News 6 attempted to get a statement from Deliwala, but the former University of Central Florida business student has remained silent on the matter.
Hanson told News 6 Deliwala has had several conversations with him since the November accident but that no compensation was ever offered.
According to Hanson, the four-wheel-drive car was totaled, but he has not filed a claim with his insurance company.
“I was not in the vehicle,” he said. “I was standing in the shop when the accident happened.”
It’s not clear if Titan Motorsports is insured for accidents off its premises, but Dewitt said he believes they would be insured.