Legal Question in Appeals and Writs in California

Trial De Novo

I was recently in a auto accident were i was placed at 0% fault. The driver at fault had AAA insurance. They declared my car totaled but only wanted to give me 2500. I told them that was not nearly enough but they sent me a check anyways. With the check a document stated that in no way did the check finalize my claim or prevent me from pursuing additional funds. it was merely to minimize any inconveniences that may have occurred. So i ended up taking the driver to small claims court and aaa spoke on his behalf. The judge said that any money they had paid me prior had no relevance to the case and ordered a judgement on my behalf of 4474.00. Now 28 days after AAA filed a trial de novo. my question is was the judge correct with his ruling and is there any chance it will be reversed at the new trial. or is AAA just filing that to delay the case and hope for a different outcome. thank you very much


Asked on 5/09/07, 3:54 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Timothy J. Walton Internet Attorney

Re: Trial De Novo

Trial de novo means that the trial is all new. The prior ruling means nothing. You will have to start from scratch and you could get a better ruling, the same ruling, or a worse ruling.

However, you are now entitled to have a lawyer represent you in the trial de novo if you wish.

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Answered on 5/09/07, 4:01 pm
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: Trial De Novo

The judge should probably have credited the defendant with $2,500 toward the amount of the judgment. If you are being compensated twice for the same loss, the defendant's appeal is justified.

As Mr. Walton notes, the appeal will be an entirely new trial in which you will be allowed to have a lawyer. The original judgment will be completely irrelevant to the new trial, and it is possible that the outcome will be very different. You might receive a smaller award or lose entirely. On the other hand, you might be awarded a larger amount.

It seems odd that AAA spoke on the defendant's behalf at the first trial. Only a lawyer can speak on behalf of another in court, but parties in small claims court are not allowed to be represented at all. Unless the AAA rep was there solely as a witness to discuss the payment history, I don't see why he was allowed to participate.

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Answered on 5/09/07, 4:16 pm


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