OT - Today, I have the pleasure of being sued...

TNP777

...but hopefully when I get home, Heritage is here!

Long story short, back in August my then 17-year-old son was involved in an accident. Speeding, but not by much, a guy backs out into the road in front of him. Bang! My son's truck (which my wife & I provided for him) had some damage to the right front - other guy's compact car was totaled. Both insurance companies refuse to pay - his because the police report said my son was speeding, mine because they found negiligence on both parties. Fast forward to last week, when I got a registered letter from the county, informing me that, as the vehicle owner and insured person, I have the pleasure of being taken to small-claims court for the $5K max.

The lady from my insurance company who denied the other guy's claim is sticking to her decision and is driving down from Sacramento to help represent me. If I win, then that's it. If the judgement goes against me, then my insurance company will pay, but my rates go up. Yuck.

I'll let you guys know how it turns out. First time in a courtroom since my last ticket, which is about five years ago. Not a big fan of courtrooms - a little nervous at the moment.

TTYL

Geordie

Stone193

Good luck Georgie

If this doesn't work out.

Seek the assistance of our forum "cleaner" - Pandrews.

Boopotts

<< <i>...but hopefully when I get home, Heritage is here!

Long story short, back in August my then 17-year-old son was involved in an accident. Speeding, but not by much, a guy backs out into the road in front of him. Bang! My son's truck (which my wife & I provided for him) had some damage to the right front - other guy's compact car was totaled. Both insurance companies refuse to pay - his because the police report said my son was speeding, mine because they found negiligence on both parties. Fast forward to last week, when I got a registered letter from the county, informing me that, as the vehicle owner and insured person, I have the pleasure of being taken to small-claims court for the $5K max.

The lady from my insurance company who denied the other guy's claim is sticking to her decision and is driving down from Sacramento to help represent me. If I win, then that's it. If the judgement goes against me, then my insurance company will pay, but my rates go up. Yuck.

I'll let you guys know how it turns out. First time in a courtroom since my last ticket, which is about five years ago. Not a big fan of courtrooms - a little nervous at the moment.

TTYL

Geordie >>



A little OT, but they should just make the driving age 18. I remember how I was behind the wheel when I was 16 and 17, and it's amazing I'm still alive. I totalled two cars, was involved in another brutal single car accident that left me in ICU for eight days, and on top of this a fricking mountain of traffic citations and warnings. Most kids I knew drove the same way I did, so I know I'm not alone.

Thank God your son wasn't hurt. That's the REAL important thing. The rest is just surface noise.

ArchStanton

Hang in there. I have wrecked more cars than Bo & Luke Duke. Your insurance may go up for a while, because your son was speeding and was in an accident. As the man with the kidney stone said, "This too shall pass."

Good luck with the Heritage.

poppie

<< <i>The lady from my insurance company who denied the other guy's claim is sticking to her decision and is driving down from Sacramento to help represent me. If I win, then that's it. If the judgement goes against me, then my insurance company will pay, but my rates go up. Yuck. >>

You at least have the support of your insurance company. All too many times they just deny claims and force you to sue them !! Good luck !!

wolfbear

Go on Judge Judy's show.

I love it when she screams at the idiots who try to lie their way out of stuff ...

alnavman

as mentioned, thank goodness your son was alright.......I have a 12 year old and I am dreading the day he starts driving.....he's already talking about it and he just turned 12!!

Southsider

Make sure you do the "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH" scene from A Few Good Men. Judges LOVE that!

No, seriously, don't do that.

Onlypsahockey

Make sure you do the "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH" scene from A Few Good Men. Judges LOVE that!

No, seriously, don't do that.



No, you have to do the scene from "Scent of a Woman" Judges love THAT!

"If I was half the man I was 5 years ago. I'd take a flame thrower to this place!"

No, seriously, don't do that either.

Bets of luck.

Bob C.

lawnmowerman

<< <i>

No, you have to do the scene from "Scent of a Woman"

"If I was half the man I was 5 years ago. I'd take a flame thrower to this place!" >>



OOUGH WAH!!


Matt

stevek

<< <i>...but hopefully when I get home, Heritage is here!

Long story short, back in August my then 17-year-old son was involved in an accident. Speeding, but not by much, a guy backs out into the road in front of him. Bang! My son's truck (which my wife & I provided for him) had some damage to the right front - other guy's compact car was totaled. Both insurance companies refuse to pay - his because the police report said my son was speeding, mine because they found negiligence on both parties. Fast forward to last week, when I got a registered letter from the county, informing me that, as the vehicle owner and insured person, I have the pleasure of being taken to small-claims court for the $5K max.

The lady from my insurance company who denied the other guy's claim is sticking to her decision and is driving down from Sacramento to help represent me. If I win, then that's it. If the judgement goes against me, then my insurance company will pay, but my rates go up. Yuck.

I'll let you guys know how it turns out. First time in a courtroom since my last ticket, which is about five years ago. Not a big fan of courtrooms - a little nervous at the moment.

TTYL

Geordie >>



In my opinion this seems fairly simple...the other guy has to wait for traffic to clear before proceding...that is a basic rule in driving. I think you should win this case in about 5 minutes - seems to me your son would have hit the guy whether slightly speeding or not. Good Luck!

Steve

duner

That sucks....three weeks after I got my license a friend bet me $1 I couldn't get to his house in under a minute, needless to say I lost the bet.....totalled the car and put 3 people in the hospital. The insurance company swallowed at least $80k in damages for my $650 premium. But they never even blinked at paying out over my stupidity.

On the bright side you're lucky he's taking you to small claims court. no matter how it turns out, res judicata will bar him from coming back at you when he gets a little more sophisticated dealing with our legal system.....most people would just go grab a PI attorney, who'd likely be raking you over the coals right now!

p.s. as for who's at fault, without even factoring in comparative negligence....it really doesn't matter. As my torts professor always said: "you just have to get it to court....then it's in the hands of twelve rejects from judge judy, and anything can happen"

larryallen73

For what it's worth, I worked a few months in the small claims Court up here in Sac. Most Judges don't make their decision right there in Court, as Judge Wopner used to do, but instead they often take it under submission. Some people leave detailed reports with the Judge including factual report, photos, legal analysis, etc.... Just take two copies and give one to Plaintiff and one to Judge if they take it under submission. Law is same in small claims as in big boy Court so don't be shy about talking to a lawyer (maybe the insurance company will provide one? I would ask them to) in preparation for Court. They can't go to Court with you but they can help you prepare and help you prepare documents to file with the Court. Also, procedural defenses work so, for example, were you personally served with the summons? At least in the old days you had to be personally served by someone other than the plaintiff. I don't know a lot about small claims Court but it's still Court so don't take it too lightly! Good luck.

SoFLPhillyFan

Offer him a Real One auto and a Black Refractor....

If he declines countersue him for "insulting your Heritage."

Best of luck.

Keith

jmbkb4

<< <i>Good luck Georgie

If this doesn't work out.

Seek the assistance of our forum "cleaner" - Pandrews.

>>

roastedcat

Good Luck Geordie!
I wish and hope you win the case.

Jery

TNP777

Hi guys!

Thanks for the kind wishes and thoughts. Just got home from work and finally have a chance to write some stuff. The hearing went pretty good I think - my insurance representative brought some wonderful pictures that she had taken of both vehicles. In mind they conclusively prove that both my son and the gentleman he hit were at fault. One thing about California is that it is a dual liability state (may have the exact terminology wrong) - basically that means the judge will assess a percentage of "fault" on both parties. If in this case it is found that my son is 50% or less "at fault" then it will not reflect negatively on my insurance. That would be wonderful! No matter what, my insurance company will cover whatever judgement is handed down.

As larryallen said, there won't be a decision for at least two weeks, when both parties will be informed of the decision by mail.

We were the last case (out of 4) called. None of the small claims cases today were settled out of court, so I got to watch the other three cases first. Helped settle me down a bit - I was big-time nervous! My son handled himself very well (I made him wear a collared Oxford-style shirt, tucked in no less, and a belt). Judge was quick & to the point with his questions.

All in all, I'm glad it's over. And yes, the biggest blessing is that nobody was hurt in the accident.

On to the other thread - time to report on the first case of Heritage.

Geordie

helionaut

How could they know he was speeding? Did he tell the cops he was? But I agree, even if someone's going 1 mph and I pull out in front of him, I don't see how I could claim it was his fault. You should win.

Snowball

Thank goodness your son didn't get hurt from that accident. If the other guy backs out into the road so that means he doesn't have the right of way. he should be cautious when backing out. I almost had an accident where I was turning to park my car and the SUV beside where I'm going to park started to back out when I was going into the empty spot. I blew the horn. It missed my car just about an inch. The lady said she thought I'm going straight (I had my turn signal on). She should have waited until I pass.

Also good thing the story wasn't twisted or something. My sister's sister-in-law had an accident where her SUV got totalled. The driver of the other car beat the red light. When she got the police report the whole thing was twisted around. The report stated she's the one who beat the red light. She hired a lawyer and then later on the lawyer dropped her and told her she will not win the case. She later found out the person who beat the red light and totalled her car have a relative who's a cop and they twisted the whole story. There was a witness who couldn't stay behind due to a meeting left his name and phone number but was not allowed as a witness because he left before the cops came.