Cengage Advantage Books: Business Law Today, The Essentials 10th Edition by Roger LeRoy Miller

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Bridge Tower Dental, P.A. v. Meridian Computer Center, Inc.
FACTS Bridge Tower Dental, P.A., contracted with Meridian Computer Center, Inc., to develop a computer system for its dental practice. Bridge Tower then paid a computer consultant, Al Colson, to install the system and provide maintenance and support. In 2004, Colson noticed that one of the server's two hard drives had stopped working and that the system was backing up data only on the mirrored hard drive. After telling Bridge Tower about the problem, Colson took the server to Meridian Computer to be repaired. The owner of Meridian Computer, Jason Patten, agreed to replace the failing hard drive under the warranty.
In attempting to copy data from the mirrored hard drive, however, Patten accidentally erased all the data. Following the industry standard, Patten had not backed up the mirrored drive because he was not asked to do so. As a result, Bridge Tower lost all of its patients' records and contact information. Bridge Tower sued Meridian Computer for negligence, and the jury found for Meridian Computer. Bridge Tower appealed.
ISSUE Did Meridian Computer breach its duty of care?
DECISION Yes. The Idaho Supreme Court reversed the judgment for Meridian Computer and held that Bridge Tower was entitled to recover.
REASON The parties agreed that a bailment existed because Colson acted as Bridge Tower's agent when he entrusted the server to Meridian Computer. The court found that the bailment included both the machine and its contents, including the data that Meridian Computer lost. The court presumed that Meridian Computer was negligent because it damaged the property by erasing all the data on the mirrored hard drive. That presumption was especially appropriate here because Patten admitted that he erased the data by mistake.
Meridian Computer argued that it had complied with the industry standard in not backing up the data, but the court found that, regardless of the industry standard, Meridian Computer owed "a duty to protect and safeguard bailed property in order to return it in the same condition as it was delivered." Because Meridian Computer could not overcome the presumption of negligence, Bridge Tower was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
CRITICAL THINKING-Legal Consideration Based on the facts presented here, what kind of bailment existed? Explain your answer.