[hackerspaces] Lending Tool Program

[Christie Dudley]

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Wow, this sounds like a bar question. I just took the bar so I'm ready
to write a pretty fast detailed legal analysis. (And no, I won't know if
I passed or not until NOVEMBER!)*

But I don't think any of you want to hear that.

The long and short of it is, if the person lending the tool is
themselves negligent somehow by entrusting the dangerous tool to the
hackerspace where just anyone can come by and hurt themselves. OK,
that's remotely credible, although only remotely. They could get dragged
into the lawsuit.

But! There is something you can do! It's called indemnification.
Indemnification is where the person offering it agrees to legally defend
and pay any damages for liability arising out of the agreed issue. If
you have a standard loan agreement where the hackerspace agrees to
"indemnify and hold harmless" the owner of the tool for its use in the
hackerspace, all the liability is back on the hackerspace and up to your
insurance to deal with.

People indemnify each other all the time. It should be covered on your
insurance. They wouldn't even bat an eye at you indemnify the tool
loaners for harm to 3rd parties for the use of the tool.

Christie

*I'm not yet a lawyer so this isn't "proper" legal advice. Don't bet the
farm on what I'm telling you here.

On 8/1/14, 14:18, Al Billings wrote:
> Well, if they donate it, the organization owns it and it is covered by their insurance.
>
> If it is simply lent, then (IANAL) they keep the liability (along with
the space for hosting it).
>
> Don?t let people lend tools. It causes a lot of other problems as well.
>
> On Aug 1, 2014, at 2:14 PM, Robert Davidson
<robert at dallasmakerspace.org <mailto:robert at dallasmakerspace.org>> wrote:
>
>> Absolutely, but in this case the organization has the liability
insurance etc.
>>
>> I am looking specifically at the individual person donating the
equipment.
>>
>> I am not as worried about the organization
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
> http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss

- -- 
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BTW, I am not a lawyer so nothing I say can be relied upon as legal
advice. I could make arrangements if you need it, though.
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