Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: parallel parking incident

Most likely, he wants you to pay for a whole new bumper cover, when touch-up-paint (under $20) might do the trick. The problem is, if you report it to your insurance company, you would have to pay a deductible and perhaps suffer some detriment. Maybe you should ask him to bring it to a body shop of your choosing to get a reasonable estimate. Good luck to you.

Re: parallel parking incident

It sounds like the damage was your fault, so it is your responsibility to make it right. If you choose not to involve your insurance company then you have to pay the full reasonable amount. Whether $700 is reasonable is beyond my expertise, but you might want to consult with a mechanic. At a minimum you should get the other driver's repair estimate (or his bill, if the work has already been done) so your mechanic can see what the quote covers; that way he will be in a better position to say if the costs are reasonable or if the amount includes additional work unrelated to the accident.

The fact that the only witness was your passenger is irrelevant to whether you are obligated to pay. It is relevant to whether the other driver can prove what happened, but unless you expect your passenger to commit perjury (and thereby risk a substantial prison term) in order to save you a few hundred dollars you should plan on losing. Your car was moving, the other car was stationary and you knew that it was there but hit it anyway. Even though the other driver was right there, you did not even ask him to move his car to give you more room to maneuver. Further, the fact that he has your card will show that you and he discussed the accident, and the fact that he didn't report the claim to his insurance very strongly suggests that you had agreed to pay out of your own pocket. I doubt that any judge or jury would find him at fault.

And don't count on the fact that there is no "police record or insurance record" to help you. The reason why there are no such records is because you agreed to cover the costs yourself. You cannot eliminate the need for these reports and then argue that the absence of such evidence proves your case. (This is an example of the legal principle called "equitable estoppel.")

There may still be time to change your mind and get your insurance to cover the cost, though you may well have violated your policy by waiting this long (in fact, I believe most insurers require drivers to report accidents even if they want to pay the damages themselves in an effort to keep their premiums down). If the insurer won't cover you, then you are back to having to pay the full reasonable amount. You have no right to shortchange the other driver in order to help you save money on your insurance.

And keep in mind that if you don't pay and the other driver sues you, he may allege that you committed fraud by promising to repimburse him when you had no intention to do so. If the judge or jury accepts this argument then you may be hit with punitive damages in addition to the cost of the damage.