Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Question about law suit against me from auto accident

The police report is irrelevant, and is simply a starting point for attorneys when discussing an auto accident. The police report itself is usually excluded at trial on the grounds that it is inadmissible hearsay.

The fact that something is or is not in a police report does not necessarily mean something happened or did not happen. Police reports are often collections of statements made by people at the accident who are not under oath and are under no duty to tell the truth. Some people see UFOs and this gets in the police report also.

If you defend the lawsuit, you may be able to elicit testimony from the police officer that no one claimed any property damage. This could be a slim chance. I was in a deposition once with a highwaypatrolman, who not only did not remember the accident that led to the lawsuit, but could barely remember his own name. Handing him a copy of his own police report, which was misdated, did nothing to refresh his memory.

You can discharge the resulting judgment in bankruptcy, but should seek the advice of bankruptcy counsel. A judgement that was the result of your negligence is dischargeable. A judgment that is the result of any intentional conduct is not.

I hope this answers your basic questions. Since you are uninsured, you do not have the assistance of in house insurance counsel, so you will have to go it alone unless you are willing to pay a lawyer hourly to defend you.

Very truly yours,

Re: Question about law suit against me from auto accident

Has it occurred to you that the compressor might have been inside the trailer? Or maybe that it was in the vehicle pulling the trailer but was knocked around due to the collision?

A post-collision police report is not an inventory of everything that might have been damaged. The police are supposed to document what kind of traffic violations took place and are not supposed to itemize damages to help the parties document their losses in subsequent civil litigation. Saying only that you hit a trailer does not imply that the trailer was the only thing damaged in the accident. Consider yourself lucky that the trailer wasn't full of fine china.

Even if the police *were* supposed to catalog all of the damage, it would be unjust to limit the plaintiff's claim for damages just because the officer failed to list something. The law generally does not make people responsible for the mistakes of strangers.

You can subpoena the officer who wrote the report to see whether he can shed any light on the situation, but I see nothing fishy about the claim.

And yes, damage awards in negligence cases are a type of debt which can generally be discharged in bankruptcy. Whether you are eligible for bankruptcy protection is a separate question. If you want to file bankruptcy you should get started soon; new laws which will scale back the scope of bankruptcy protection will take effect in October, but if you file before then your case will be governed by the current laws.

One last point -- the penalty for driving without insurance is a one-year suspension of your drivers' license. Since police took a report, presumably someone has noticed this problem. You thus may have more problems in store for you.