Getting sued in small claims

[Lawrence]

Some of you might remember that just before going on vacation, some idiot tried to swoop by me as I hit the brakes, scratched my rear bumper plastic corner, and then claimed I backed into him and caused all sorts of damage to his BMW.

This morning someone delivered some papers and when I opened the envelope, I found out that he was suing me in small calims.

He states that "the defendant backed his SUV into my auto yet claims I hit his car". He his suing me for $2K for "invoice for damages, investigative resources, legal requirements and related".

There is an interesting question which is "You must ask the defendant (in person, in writing, or by phone) to pay you before you sue. Have you done this?" He replied "No, because the defendant lied to me at the time of the accident". That is like a 5-year old saying he won't play with his friend because he won't give him candy. What a crock.

Anyway, have any of you gone to small claims before? What is the procedure, what happens? Anything I should prepare for?

[ABQ TJ]

ugh...sounds like it's gonna suck, no matter what.

Good luck to ya...I've never been, thankfully.

[oddball]

That needs to be given to your insurance company asap. Your auto coverage should include representation for small claims suits involving a covered loss.

[Lawrence]

Originally posted by oddball
That needs to be given to your insurance company asap. Your auto coverage should include representation for small claims suits involving a covered loss.

What do you mean? The small claims paper says that "you may not have a lawyer represent you in court".

[NAILER341]

give it to them anyway. then you can sue your insurance for not taking care of the claim. this is what we have insurance for.

[Tim]

Originally posted by Lawrence
Some of you might remember that just before going on vacation, some idiot tried to swoop by me as I hit the brakes, scratched my rear bumper plastic corner, and then claimed I backed into him and caused all sorts of damage to his BMW.

This morning someone delivered some papers and when I opened the envelope, I found out that he was suing me in small calims.

He states that "the defendant backed his SUV into my auto yet claims I hit his car". He his suing me for $2K for "invoice for damages, investigative resources, legal requirements and related".

There is an interesting question which is "You must ask the defendant (in person, in writing, or by phone) to pay you before you sue. Have you done this?" He replied "No, because the defendant lied to me at the time of the accident". That is like a 5-year old saying he won't play with his friend because he won't give him candy. What a crock.

Anyway, have any of you gone to small claims before? What is the procedure, what happens? Anything I should prepare for?

this makes me sad.. i hate people.

[oddball]

They will send an adjuster (claim "representative").

Basically, the investigation an insurance company does is their work product. Just as most businesses don't open their books, etc to anyone that asks, the insurance company does an investigation and it is theirs. They make the decision on coverage and liability based on their investigation. However, when there is a court issue they will do whatever is necessary to protect their insured (in this case you). What's likely to happen is they will send the adjuster (representative) that did the investigation, or a representative that handles legal issues to meet you on the court date and offer any assistance they can. If there is an award against you, you present it to your insurance company.

If you do not give the information to your insurance company asap you prevent them from adequately protecting you/your interests. It is in these cases there *MAY* be an issue as to whether it is then covered (but it probably won't make a difference), because you don't allow them the opportunity to present an argument against the person that is taking you to court.

[TObject]

I would get a lawyer, and counter sue the bustard in the civil division of the superior court. But you need to act fast: there are certain time-periods that have to be met.

In the small claims court you need to explain to the judge why it is not your fault, and why it is the other?s guy fault. You need to have proof. You can have witnesses (in person). You should bring evidence (documents, photographs, diagrams, police report, ect.). If you have to, you can read your remarks to the judge, but everything needs to be short. No one is allowed to make objections, and there are no juries. You [usually] cannot have a lawyer representing you in the small claims court, but you can have a small claims legal advisor helping you before and after the hearing.

[JeepGal]

Whatever you do, dont ignore the summons. Even if he doesnt have a legal leg to stand on, you'll lose in default if you dont show up.

Tam

[Allen]

Something slightly different happend to my wife not long ago.

She was sitting in the turn lane at a stop light.

She had a red arrow.

Without warning the Camry in front of her suddenly backed up and into our WJ.

Long story short, he claimed that she hit him, and his passenger is his witness.

Cops show up and sense something is up after getting wildly different versions of the accident, and refuse to write any tickets because any "apparent" damage was under $500. The cop makes my wife exchange info with the guy who is now irate, threatening to sue her in small claims court if his car isn't fixed. The cop also dismisses his witness because he was in the car that was "hit". Witnesses from any involved vehicle don't count.....

We notify our insurance company, State Farm, who assure us we have nothing to worry about.

The guy actually had the balls to file a claim, and suddenly his neck and back hurt.....

State Farm sent out an adjuster to look at his car, and they also sent an insurance fraud specilist. Not only was the damge on his car 3 years old, according to the fraud guy, but the scratch he claims my wife caused when she "hit him", wasn't even close to lining up with the only exposed metal on the front of our Grand.....the bumper bolts. Also, the scratch was way too long to have been cause by her rear ending him. The scratch ran horizontal with the bumper, not vertical. They denied his claim on the spot with a written notice to follow.

He again threatens to sue us in small claims court to the adjuster and fraud specialist. The fraud specialist says go ahead, we'll just turn over our report to our customer to use in their defense in court. We'll also recommend that they counter sue you for their damages, lost wages, etc. Heck, we might even pursue sueing you for insurance fraud.....

Never heard another word.

Notify you insurance company immediately if it isn't already too late. Just because they physically can't represent you, doesn't mean they can't still help you out.

Good luck.

[Lawrence]

I spoke to my insurance company this morning. Basically, they denied the guy's claim and closed the case, so that is why he is suing me.

Anyway, a claims specialist called me, asked me to fax her the court papers and told me to prepare for it. The more prepared, the more believable. She also mentioned that in most cases, it is very difficult for a judge to tell who is right and they tend to say that each party is responsible for their own damage. That is fine with me since I have $96.12 worth of damage. Hardly worth my time, and if it bothers me that much, I can throw one of these banner-sized Vanco stickers over it

In the event the judgment is against me, State Farm will pay the $2k, but then will raise my rates The good news is that if the judgment is against the idiot, this is final and he can't sue me anymore

[TObject]

Good luck. Don't forget to call the judge "your honor," and tell us how everything went in detail. The whole thing shouldn't last more than 10 ? 15 minutes.

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by Lawrence
I spoke to my insurance company this morning. Basically, they denied the guy's claim and closed the case, so that is why he is suing me.

Anyway, a claims specialist called me, asked me to fax her the court papers and told me to prepare for it. The more prepared, the more believable. She also mentioned that in most cases, it is very difficult for a judge to tell who is right and they tend to say that each party is responsible for their own damage. That is fine with me since I have $96.12 worth of damage. Hardly worth my time, and if it bothers me that much, I can throw one of these banner-sized Vanco stickers over it

In the event the judgment is against me, State Farm will pay the $2k, but then will raise my rates The good news is that if the judgment is against the idiot, this is final and he can't sue me anymore

If you make the diagrams I described with the areas of damage marked on both model cars with photos, only a moron of a judge would hand the judgement to the idiot in the BMW.

You're saving grace in this whole mess is his claim that he was parked in a space when you backed into him.

BTW- It's typical for witnesses riding in involved vehicles to be disallowed due to lack of impartiality. So you shouldn't worry about him conjuring up any. Besides, if they had of been there, you would have their information in case they needed to file a medical claim.

[Jeff Weston]

Originally posted by Lawrence
She also mentioned that in most cases, it is very difficult for a judge to tell who is right and they tend to say that each party is responsible for their own damage.

FWIW, a guy in a mega-lifted mini Toy truck (remember the 80's with the light/roll bar in the bed with all the KC lights on top?) backed into me and asked if he could pay direct since he didn't have insurance. Being the nice guy that I am , I agreed and was paid back with him changing his mind later, claiming I hit him (yeah, I always try to double park under other cars ).

Anyway, I had my diagrams, pictures and anything else I could all set to go and the defendant basically just stuck to his story with no other corroborating evidence or witnesses. The judge, who didn't appear to really even be giving his total 100% to the trial at hand, essentially divided the damages in two and awarded me half.

I think it is a pretty safe bet that you'll be okay.

Good luck!!

[speaceman]

There's only one word for jerks like this and that word is douche nozzle.

Wait, that's two words.

I hate people who pull scams like this. Like most of us don't have anything better to do than to worry about spending a day down in small claims.

Some jerkoff turned into my sister the other day, we think on purpose.

He had more surface area on his car dented than straight and my sister's car had a scratch in it that would wash out, it was so light.

And the guy filed a claim.

I don't know what damages he's claiming to have, since hitting my sisters car probably straightened out that portion of his car, thereby increasing his value.

What a waste of time.

[Lawrence]

Originally posted by mrblaine
If you make the diagrams I described with the areas of damage marked on both model cars with photos, only a moron of a judge would hand the judgement to the idiot in the BMW.

I will make them, and when I mentioned this to the insurance company, they couldn't agree more. So I plan on bringing pics of my scratches (damage), a paper showing how little the painted part costs (how little damage compared to his extensive one), pics of the parking lot with the FJ in position, and a diagram of the parking lot with the model cars (although a radio controlled version would be a lot more fun). Any other ideas, let me know, this thing isn't until the end of August.

[Jeff Weston]

How about countersuing for your stiff neck and loss of work? That way, if the judge does indeed split it down the middle, you're ahead.

[Lawrence]

So, yesterday I showed up to court. Everything was peachy until some completely insane moron decided to come in the court building and said he had a bomb hidden somewhere. The police promptly evacuated the building, put the guy in custody, roped off the whole block, and escorted all of us to a building across the street. While waiting for the bomb squad to show up and sweep the building, we were ?locked? into a room without permission to leave.

Three hours later, we were allowed back in the court building. Most people had left, but the idiot suing me was still there and I was hoping we could proceed. The bailiff said the judge was sent home so we will have to reschedule. He further said that judges hate hearing small claims cases and strongly suggested that we settle instead of asking for a new court day. I said thanks but no thanks, but the idiot wanted to talk to me privately. I figured it couldn?t hurt, and that I could try to get some info that I could use against him.

Him: We both know what happened, so let?s be honest about it.
Me: Yes we do, we just have different versions.
Him: You told your insurance company I hit you. You have no idea how much time and money I had to spend to track you down. You are very hard to find, I had to hire a PI.
Me: Really? We exchanged personal information at the scene, and you were pretty quick in calling my insurance company to file a claim. Seems to me you had enough info and that there was no real need for your PI. Even if you had ?lost? my info, you could have asked my agent who would have gladly given it to you.
Him: I am out a lot of money, I am willing to take my chances in court, but if you want to make me an offer, let?s talk.
Me: What?s to talk about?
Him: Damages to my vehicle
Me: I know that, you want to talk $$, how much $$ you want to talk about?
Him: $2K, that?s what it is costing me, I have estimates to prove it.
Me: First of, there is nothing for me to talk or settle about. Second, I don?t believe you have that much damage, why don?t you mail me your so-called estimates, including your PI bill? (trying to see how much full of crap he his).
Me again: I spoke with my insurance agent who told me the way I should handle it. Besides, why didn?t you file with your own insurance company and let them handle it? It seems to me it would have been the proper and easiest way. (trying to understand his motivation and fish out some info)
Him: I can?t, I don?t have collision coverage.
We exchange a few more civilities, then went back inside and asked for a new court day.

When I first got served, a friend told me that this guy was trying to shake me down for some money, that he was suing me in hopes that I would panic and throw him some cash. But the thing that still bugged me through all this was that I couldn?t figure out ?the why? of his actions. After our little chat and that last comment, it became evident: idiot drives around, idiot is too close and runs into me, idiot doesn?t have a pot to pi$$ in and can?t afford proper coverage, idiot lies hoping to get his POS car fixed for free by some sucker.

Our next ?date? is Oct 3rd. Fun times.

[speaceman]

What a dill hole. I think that if you are found to be making fraudulent insurance claims, in order to be able to drive afterwards, you have to agree to have your airbag removed and to having a spring loaded sword installed in its place.

[Lawrence]

Shalom,

Good idea, but that's not painful enough, too quick. I like Blaine's suggestion better. Dress the guy up in a pink tutu and a pink t-shirt that say "bikers are gay". Find the roughest biker bar in town and throw his butt in it. Much more painful. Then, we can apply your airbag idea.

BTW, whatever happened with the jerkoff who swerved into your sister and filed a claim?

[speaceman]

Oh, that's a story that is still developing.

Basically, the Farmers adjuster that got my sister's case told her to F off and that she was at fault and to go **** up a tree.

The adjuster never talked to the guy. Never got the highway patrol report. Never visited the accident scene.

Nothing.

My sister asked her what the deal was. She basically told my sister to f off over the phone.

This is the first time anyone at farmers has ever done anything like this and I have insurance with them for cars, home and commercial.

I've never seen anything like this.

So our agent called up the head boss over this lady and the case was reassigned.

I haven't heard anything new yet. All this happened about a week ago.

[Jerry Bransford]

40 years ago, my dad had a problem with a similar jerk. He made up a few sheets of a phony lawfirm letterhead and wrote him a letter threatening him with a lawsuit to resolve the issue. It worked.

With the right phrasing and a few appropriate legal terms, maybe a similar action would scare the guy enough to wise up. Afterall, a mighty fine looking Allen, Weiss, and Gebhardt & Associates letterhead can be made up in a few minutes using nothing more than MS Word.

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by Jerry Bransford
40 years ago, my dad had a problem with a similar jerk. He made up a few sheets of a phony lawfirm letterhead and wrote him a letter threatening him with a lawsuit to resolve the issue. It worked.

With the right phrasing and a few appropriate legal terms, maybe a similar action would scare the guy enough to wise up. Afterall, a mighty fine looking Allen, Weiss, and Gebhardt & Associates letterhead can be made up in a few minutes using nothing more than MS Word.

I got one of those letters and when I quit laughing hysterically, I posted copies of it on the net and hilarity ensued. I'd really not recommend that course of action.

[ABQ TJ]

Originally posted by mrblaine
I got one of those letters and when I quit laughing hysterically, I posted copies of it on the net and hilarity ensued. I'd really not recommend that course of action.

That kid was a turd that needed flushin'

[Lawrence]

Update: Just got home after wasting a few hours in court today... Nice Guy 1 - Douchebag 0.

The turd didn't even show up. The court clerk said that nothing prevents him from refiling and suing me again, but this case is officially dismissed as of today.

[speaceman]

Good for you. I'm glad when things like this work out the right way.

[Jeff Weston]

So he was bluffing all along and folded when the chips were down. Even though you had to waste your time, at least you have the satisfaction that he knows that you know that he is in fact a tool!

[Paradiddle]

It is my understanding that the court cannot force you to pay a small claim.

Is that correct?

I think the person suing would have to try and put some type of lien on you or your property - but those have specific rules?

PS - glad you won

[speaceman]

Yeah, you have to get a lien on property or a bank account or you have to try to get garnishment of wages.

[JeepKat]

Originally Posted by Lawrence

Update: Just got home after wasting a few hours in court today... Nice Guy 1 - Douchebag 0.

The turd didn't even show up. The court clerk said that nothing prevents him from refiling and suing me again, but this case is officially dismissed as of today.

Congratulations! One less thing to worry about now