Can a cosigner on a leased car be sued in an event of an accident even if he/she wasn't driving or in the vehicle?

Anybone can be sued. The question is whether the plaintiff could recover from the co-signor. Normally, all owners of a car are sued in the event of an accident. That is why you have to have insurance protecting all owners and in this case, the co-signor should also be included in the insurance policy, so that when the accident happens, there will not be any doubt as to coverage of the liability. If the co-signor is worried against losing his/her assets in a catastrophic accident, I suggest you talk to your insurance agent and ask for an excess insurance policy to protect him/her from any potential lawsuit. Best of luck.

As stated so well by Mr. Juarez, any owner on title to the car can be sued by the victim of an accident involving the vehicle. They can be sued for negligence in entrusting the vehicle to a person who should not be driving, they can be sued up to the statutory amount for being an owner when the vehicle is in an accident, they can be sued for a number of reasons. If you are the owner, the insurance policy should name you as an insured, even if you don't drive the vehicle, because you can be sued for an accident. Review your insurance policies and the policy of the driver carefully. Also, if you consult a defense attorney for car accidents, they may be able to help you find insurance coverage or a way to get the driver to cover your defense if you are sued. Try 's "find a lawyer" tab. Robert Stempler (please see DISCLAIMER below) www.StopCollectionLawsuits.com www.facebook.com/SoCalConsumerLawyer Twitter: @RStempler

Yes the co-signer can be sued for a car accident for statutory 'owner liability' and separately for 'negligent entrustment' so long as the co-signer is a co-owner or registered owner of the vehicle. The specific facts of this ownership arrangement may limit exposure to a 'negligent entrustment' situation. Negligent entrustment arises from a vehicle that you own being available to someone that should not be driving such as leaving your keys out for a child to misuse or letting someone you should know is unlicensed to use the car or allowing the vehicle to be used by someone intoxicated or even someone you should know has a substance abuse problem. On the other hand, being a parent/co-signer for an adult/child to purchase their first car where the adult/child is out of the co-signer's residence (such as off to college) would limit 'negligent entrustment' exposure so long as the co-signer sent an email to the adult/child laying out boundaries such as “You know that no one but you is allowed to driver this car. You know that you cannot operate the car when under the influence of a controlled substance such as alcohol or drugs (even prescription drugs). You must keep the car insured at all times.” As a San Diego car accident lawyer I am responsible for investigating owner liability and negligent entrustment theories for our injured clients. However, where there is a valid insurance policy in effect for the date of loss, owner liability is secondary to driver liability. As a result, keeping the vehicle insured is extremely important. Information to consider when buying insurance for car accidents is available on our blog.