Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
Statefarm Insurance is suing me for $8300. I was a renter and had a grease fire start in the kitchen. The homeonwer's got a check for $8300 and the insurance company is coming after me. The homeowner did not spend that money on repairs. The only thing that needed to be done is paint the kitchen white and replace the stove ($300) and microwave ($300). Should I settle or can I fight this?
1 Answer from Attorneys
What the insurance carrier is doing is called subrogation. Most likely, it paid its insured (your landlord) $8,300 because of the fire, and is seeking to recover that amount. If you can show them that the amount was unreasonable and settle for the reasonable amount, that sounds like a good idea. Otherwise, you might be throwing yourself into the court system and, if you are unaware of the way the law works, you might either have to hire an attorney at a considerable expense, or try to do it yourself, which is a huge task for which many non-lawyers are not equipped.
In any case, make sure that you file a responsive pleading (answer, demurrer, motion to strike) with the court and serve it on the insurance carrier's attorney within 30 days of the service of the summons and complaint upon you.
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