Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: the car rental company is refusing to honor liability insurance

Fortunately for you, the other driver's lawyer will lose interest very quickly once they discover there's no insurance.`

You may yet be able to recover damages for fraud, bad faith, and indemnity for the other party's damages. First, you will need to file a claim in the bankruptcy court (if they are really bankrupt) for a "contingent, unliquidated" claim. Next, and beyond this point you would probably want to involve a lawyer, there are legal steps that will help you find out for sure if the liability coverage is with an insurance company or the rental company was "self-insured." Come to think of it, the company would have had to have had at least $15K of insurance, or posted a self-insurance bond, on file with the DMV. You could write to the DMV Financial Responsibility Unit and inquire. Lastly, you could file an adversary complaint in bankruptcy seeking to increase the priority of your claim; or going after the company's officers/directors/shareholders for fraud. Do not file an answer with the court until you have consulted an attorney in person (you will need to do it correctly), and you would also need to file a cross-complaint against the company and any insurance company -- but it's very illegal to sue entities that are under the protection of the bankruptcy court. Let me know if I can help you sort out this mess.

Would you please post your situation to the TravelBuzz forum at flyertalk.com , naming the company.

Re: the car rental company is refusing to honor liability insurance

Turn this matter over to your own auto insurance company.

Re: the car rental company is refusing to honor liability insurance

You can't 'sue' the rental company since they filed bankruptcy and are no longer in your litigation. You could, and should, file a 'claim' against them in bankruptcy court, but don't hold your breath about ever getting paid on it. If you have your own car with insurance, then turn over the claim to that insurance company. It is generally a 'covered' event to drive a rental. If no such insurance, then you should hire an attorney to defend you if this is a substantial claim for personal injuries. Under the circumstances, an attorney may be able to negotiate a quick, reasonable settlement to avoid you spending a ton of attorney fees on a losing case. If serious about getting such counsel, feel free to contact me.