The Automobile Insurance Act determines that the owner of an automobile is deemed liable for property damage for the sole reason that it is caused by his automobile (section 108). As a general rule, the owner may oppose or limit the presumption of liability in two ways, which are by proving that:

That the damage was caused by the fault of the victim or of a third party, or by superior force; OR
That, at the time of the accident, he had lost possession of his automobile by theft and that he had not yet recovered it.

Not being the person driving the vehicle is thus not a valid motive for the owner to oppose or limit his liability. Moreover, the malfunction of the breaks is related to the condition or the running order of the automobile and does not constitute a superior force, as specified in the second paragraph of section 108. The same applies to the state of health of the driver. As such, the only correct answer is d.

Reference in manual F110, 1^re édition, 2011:

Tome 1, page 54, section 1.2.2.8.2 - Le régime d’indemnisation des dommages matériels

Classification in the evaluation table for skill 05-115:

Subsection 1.3 – Identify the main features of the compensation schemes set up under the Automobile Insurance Act

Integrate into practice the general principles of law applicable to damage insurance and the rules governing the activities of claims adjusters

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