A motorist was driving along a narrow, winding road when his car ran out of gas. Because the road had no shoulders, the motorist pushed his car onto the driveway of a landowner. Finding no one home at the house, the motorist started walking toward a gas station he had passed a mile back. While he was gone, the landowner returned and found the car in his driveway, with two of its wheels partially on his flower garden. Although the landowner had not posted any "no trespassing" signs, he believed he had the right to remove the car from his property. The car was unlocked, so he released the parking brake and pushed the car back onto the edge of the road, and then reset the brake. Before the motorist could return, a truck had sideswiped the car, damaging it.Can the motorist recover against the landowner for the damage to his car?

In order to determine whether the motorist can recover against the landowner for the damage to his car, various factors and legal principles are considered. These include the concepts of trespass, negligence, and duty of care. Here’s a breakdown of the situation:

1. Trespass: The car was trespassed onto the landowner's property when the motorist ran out of gas and left it there. However, the act seems to be a necessity due to the road condition and an effort to prevent obstruction of the road. The landowner discovering the car on his property would indeed consider it a trespass, but it's also relevant to determine if there were any damages directly caused by this act.

2. Duty of Care: The landowner has a duty to take reasonable care when dealing with the property of others. When he moved the car, he assumed a certain level of responsibility for its safety.

3. Negligence: If the landowner pushed the car onto the edge of the road, a place where it reasonably could be expected to be hit by another vehicle, then the landowner could be negligent. This is particularly so if the road is narrow and winding, as described, which implies that any object on or near the road could be a hazard.

4. Proximate Cause: The tractor-trailer that hit the car is the direct cause of the damage. However, the landowner's actions are a proximate cause if they resulted in the car being in the position to be hit.

Deciding if the motorist can recover damages will likely revolve around whether the landowner's actions were reasonable and if moving the car to the road's edge was a foreseeable risk. The lack of "no trespassing" signs doesn't relieve the landowner of the duty to act reasonably. If the landowner acted unreasonably, then he may be liable for the damages. In this case, the motorist could have a claim against the landowner for negligence resulting in damage to his vehicle.

Legal jurisdictions handle these cases differently. Therefore, it's advisable for the motorist to consult with legal counsel to determine the strength of his claim based on the local laws.

Extra: In cases such as this one, the legal principle of negligence often comes into play. Negligence requires the plaintiff (the motorist) to establish that the defendant (the landowner) had a duty to him, that the landowner breached that duty, and that this breach was the proximate cause of his losses (damage to the car). The concept of "proximate cause" deals with how closely the harm caused is linked to the defendant's actions.

Another concept that may arise is "attractive nuisance," although it generally applies to cases where something on a property attracts children, who may not recognize the risks, and consequently, get injured. While not exactly applicable in this case, it is an example of the duty of care owed to others on one's property.

Trespass to property is an area of law that defines unauthorized entry to another person's property. Even without "no trespassing" signs, the property is assumed to have certain boundaries not to be crossed by others. However, in emergency situations or cases of necessity, certain exceptions can be made, and courts will take into account the reasonableness of the trespasser’s actions.

Collecting evidence, witness statements, and getting legal counsel would be important next steps for the motorist. In real life, this would likely involve a court case or an insurance claim, where the details of the case and the actions of both the landowner and the motorist would be closely examined to determine liability for the damages sustained.