Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
Verbal Contract
Our son (age 19) let a ''friend'' drive his car at a track. The ''friend'' (age 20) totalled the car. Our insurance won't cover it because he was under 25 years old. The ''friend'' told our son not to worry, that he would take care of it, and he had good insurance. Our son said okay. There were many witnesses. Once he learned that insurance stays with the vehicle and not the driver, he's trying to back out completely. Can we hold him to his ''promise'' -- is that a verbal contract? We feel he should pay for 1/2 the value of the car and take 1/2 the responsibility.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Verbal Contract
The real issue here is, who was at fault? In California we have adopted what is known as comparative liability. That is one who is responsible for a percentage of the accident must pay that percentage of the cost to repair that damage, whether property or personal injury. You should attempt to determine who is at fault and to what extent. You can demand payment on the basis of tort liability, not about contract.
Re: Verbal Contract
Based on the limited details you have provided, this does not strike me as a binding contract because (a) the friend received nothing of value in exchange for his promise, and (b) you and your son did nothing differently in reliance on his promise.
That said, he may be legally responsible for the damage to the car whether he promised to pay for it or not, and if that is the case then his promise really doesn't matter.
But how much money does this 20-year-old have? You can sue him and you would likely win a judgment requiring him to pay (barring some significant factual issue which is not included in your question), but whether you would be able to collect is another story.
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