Question
Early one morning last February, Greg, the owner of an antique store (which was organized as an LLC), and one of the store's employees, Bob,
Early one morning last February, Greg, the owner of an antique store (which was organized as an LLC), and one of the store's employees, Bob, were driving the company cargo van from Houston to Ft. Davis (in far northwest Texas) to bring a large armoire to its new owners. Bob was driving the first leg of the journey and, at about 2:45 am, he realized that Greg had fallen asleep in the passenger seat and that he was sleepy too, so he pulled off the interstate and went into a Starbucks to get a coffee for Greg and a hot chocolate for him. When Bob came out, it was raining and standing next to the van was a guy wearing a thin jacket, shivering in the wet and cold. The stranger asked Bob where he was headed and then if he could ride with him to Ft. Davis. Bob felt sorry for him and didn't think Greg would mind, so he said okay, but told him that he'd have to ride in the back with the furniture. The hitchhiker said that was fine with him, so he climbed in the back and almost immediately fell asleep. Meanwhile, Bob woke Greg up, gave him the coffee, told him it was his turn to drive for a while, an d climbed into the passenger seat. Bob promptly fell asleep - and never told Greg that a stranger was now riding in the back of the van. About 6 a.m., the hitchhiker woke up. Wondering where they were and what time it was, he reached through the wire partition separating the cargo compartment from the front seat and tapped Greg, the driver, on the shoulder, saying "How much longer?" Greg screamed a profanity and, in a fit of panic and incomprehension, jerked the steering wheel to the right as he swiveled to see the source of the voice behind him. This caused the van to swerve off the road and end up in a ditch. Bob and Greg were wearing their seatbelts and were uninjured, but the passenger in the back was badly bruised and the armoire was scuffed and marred. Both the hitchhiker and the buyers of the armoire want to sue. Who should they sue and for what? Do you think the hitchhiker's lawsuit will be successful? Why or why not?
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