Shortly after hiring Adams, Goodyear Tires transferred him from Houston, which was near his home, to Bryan, Texas, to work on commercial trucks. After the transfer, Adams continued to live in Houston and commuted two hours each way to work. Although Adams owned his own car, Goodyear allowed him to use a company-owned pickup truck to commute to and from work. Once or twice a week, Adams either picked up tires at the Houston shop on his way to work and delivered them to Bryan, or dropped tires from Bryan at the Houston shop on the way home. With his boss’s knowledge, Adams also used the Goodyear truck during working hours to run some personal errands.

After Adams left work in the company car on a Friday, he delivered tires to the Houston shop at 7 p.m., stopped for Chinese takeout, and drove to his father’s house, which was about ten miles from his home, where he ate dinner, drank a few beers, and fell asleep. At 1 a.m. he woke up and drove the car to a store to buy cigarettes for his father.

On the way back to his father’s house, Adams fell asleep at the wheel and hit another car, severely injuring himself and the other driver. After the driver sued Adams and Goodyear, Travelers Indemnity Company (Goodyear’s insurance company) refused to cover Adams or to defend or indemnify him in the lawsuit, and Adams sued Travelers and Goodyear. Travelers argued that Adams was not an “insured” under its policy with Goodyear because he did not have permission to use the truck when the accident occurred. Did Adams have implied permission to use the truck? Is Goodyear (and therefore Travelers) liable for damages arising out of the accident? If so, on what basis?