Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

No Contest plea
My wife was involved in a head on waterways accident on our SeaDoo in which only she was cited for entering the wrong direction and failure to avoid an accident. We believe that the other party was as much or more at fault as they were making a 'u-turn' and not looking the direction they were travelling, which ended up being straight at her. My wife was only interviewed while having a concussion. Now they want us to plead 'no contest', which is fine, but they want us to concede that liability will be paid to the other party, which we do not want to do. Both my wife and child sustained injuries and our SeaDoo was substantially damaged.
How should we plead so as to not give up any liability claims until our insurance can deal with that part?

Thank you for any help

Asked on 6/05/07, 1:25 pm

5 Answers from Attorneys

Peter Berlin Law Offices of Peter Berlin, A Prof. Corp.

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Re: No Contest plea

Your question makes little sense. Is she being charged with a crime? Or is this just a civil matter or an infraction?

If its a criminal matter and they want you to plea to a particular charge then they likely want you to admit liability and pay restitution to the victim. If you dont want this, then you must fight the criminal matter and get an attorney.

Answered on 6/05/07, 1:44 pm

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Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

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Re: No Contest plea

Not guilty. Then take your chances at trial presenting your facts, witnesses and defenses. Sounds like you should have counsel defending and educating you. Feel free to contact me if serious about trying to defend this and protect yourself. If handled right, it may be possible to get the civil damages handled by insurance and then convince the prosecutor to accept a 'civil compromise agreement' that has been worked out between the parties' attorneys rather than impose on you open an open-ended 'restitution' order enforced by the probation department. Contact me if you want to try.

Answered on 6/05/07, 1:55 pm

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OCEAN BEACH ASSOCIATES OCEAN BEACH ASSOCIATES

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Re: No Contest plea

I understand your difficulty with the criminal and civil matters coinciding. The problem is that the citation has merit but with comparative negligence on the civil side the best possible outcome is having damages paid to you. You need a continuance if more time will allow the insurance companies to sort it out. Most likely, though, they will need more time than that. Was the other party cited for making an illegal U-Turen? You would do well with representation. Contact me directly.

Answered on 6/05/07, 2:34 pm

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Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

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Re: No Contest plea

If your wife is facing criminal charges she should get a lawyer, bring him up to speed on the case and let him advise her. He will need to know quite a bit more about the case than you have told us, and this site cannot replace the individualized guidance a retained defense attorney would be able to provide. If you can't afford counsel (which would probably also mean you couldn't afford a SeaDoo) then your wife should get a public defender.

Answered on 6/05/07, 4:38 pm

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