Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: how do I ?

You can file a small claims lawsuit if you have evidence of the value of the repairs, photos, etc.

Re: how do I ?

It's call 'lawsuit'. File in small claims court for up to $7500 damages, in Superior Court for over that. Just suing and getting a judgment does not insure you'll get paid. If he has nothing, then that's what you'll collect.

Re: how do I ?

Your factual situation doesn't make sense for the following reason: If your was repossessed, that means there was a lienholder (i.e. a bank or finance company holding the pink slip, because you had not paid off the loan). In such a case, you are REQUIRED to have, at a minimum, property and theft insurance on the car, and most (if not all) lienholders will purchase insurance for you if you fail to obtain this insurance. It's called forced coverage. The lienholder of course then bills you for the insurance.

But bottom line is that if the lienholder had its own coverage in place, then you may not have a problem here (depending upon your equity situation with the vehicle).

If in fact there was coverage, then you are the beneficiary under the policy, and you need to make a claim under the policy for the loss.

If it turns out that the carrier determines that the vehicle is a total loss, then the carrier will pay the lien holder (i.e. the bank) what the carrier determines to be the fair market value (FMV) of the car at the time of the loss.

If the FMV is equal (or greater) than the amount left on the loan, then you owe nothing to the bank (and may even be entitled to the difference).

If the FMV is less than the amount left on the loan, then the lien holder will pursue you for that difference (which is known as an auto deficiency).