Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
small claims court matter ?
A insured man fell asleep at the wheel hitting my van on the street in front of my home and totaled it. I submitted a claim with my insurance company and they paid my loan off and gave me $1000 dollars. THe van cost me $4300 out of pocket to buy I had to pay sales tax and registration fees too. I made a total of $5700 in payments since I've had it. They say I'm getting fair market price. I say I spent $11000 to get $1000. By the way his SRV was bearly dammaged. He still has a vehicle, I don't. Can I take him to small claims for $5000?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: small claims court matter ?
Understanding you have two other pieces of advice on file (isn't technology great?), my opinion is that you really ought to have a lawyer look at what you signed with the insurance company. For $11,000, your insurance company may or may not have required you to give them your claim against the driver. It's almost not worth it for them to pursue it. If you did, you're probably out of business. If you didn't, even then, I would be hesitant to give up an $11,000 claim for a maximum recovery of $5,000. My feeling is that that is a very close call between whether it's worth getting a lawyer involved and trying to recoup some of the $6,000 loss you will definitely lose if you go to small claims.
www.benpavone.com
Benjamin Pavone
Benjamin Pavone, Esq.
4908 Santa Cruz 8
Re: small claims court matter ?
No, not if you accepted the insurance settlement.
Ken Koury
Kenneth P. Koury, Esq.
5807 Topanga Cyn Blvd., Suite G-201
Re: small claims court matter ?
You may have a case against the driver of the vehicle. Since you made the claim against your insurance company, some of the loss has not been covered by the procedes of the settlement. It all depends on what you signed when you were paid by your insurance company.
In order to determine f you have a claim, you will need to review what you signed to see if you signed away all of your rights.
Robert E. Drescher
Law Offices of Robert E. Drescher
23958 Avenida Crescenta
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