Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

Re: Vehicle Accident Liablity to Owner not Driver

Did she have any auto insurance for this vehicle? If so they should provide a defense.

Joel Selik

800-894-2889

Re: Vehicle Accident Liablity to Owner not Driver

Report the service of the complaint to her auto insurance company and the insurers of her home. They should defend her in this matter. She would also be entitled to retain cumis counsel at the expense of the insurance company. Do not delay as you have only thirty days in which to file an answer. If the insurance companies doe not agree to defend then you should retain an attorney to represent her. If she did not consent to her brother driving the vehicle she may have a defense. If she routinely allowed him to drive the vehicle the fact that he did not have permission on this particular occassion would defeat the non permissive driver defense.

Re: Vehicle Accident Liablity to Owner not Driver

Mr. Lyle Johnson, one of the attorneys who responded to this posting, asks some of the right questions. Did she ROUTINELY allow her brother (or brother-in-law) to drive the car previously, without requiring her ADVANCE permission? If so, there's an argument that by her prior practice, and absent any intervening instructions to the contrary, he DID still have her permission to use the car, and if so, there should be coverage, IF that's the reason for the denial by her insurance company. If he also lived in the household, and was NOT listed as a named insured, they could deny on that basis as well.

You don't tell us the fundamental question here, which is, WHY did they deny coverage?? If you can find out and repost your question with more info, or perhaps send the answer to the attorneys who answered you, perhaps you can get a bit more information.

The MOST IMPORTANT THING: HIRE AN ATTORNEY NOW, and worry about the rest later; just so you can get an ANSWER FILED BY A LAWYER in the appropriate court, within the timelines, which are SHORT.

Yes, you COULD, perhaps, file an Answer yourself, but what if you DON'T do it correctly? At least if a lawyer screws things up, you have some recourse against the lawyer or the lawyer's malpractice insurance. If YOU make a mistake, you may be stuck with it! It shouldn't cost TOO much just to file a simple answer with the court, and to advise about and/or communicate with your wife's insurer, as to coverage. You COULD, theoretically, just hire the lawyer to prepare an answer that YOU file, and the attorney stays out of it. That's cheaper, but it sounds as if you could use a lawyer to get to the bottom of this coverage issue quickly. In either event, if you get a PROPER ANSWER filed in the proper court, WITH advice of counsel (at the very least),THEN, at least, you've preserved your rights in the case, until it's all sorted out.

Best of luck to you! Don't call US for representation, though. Although we ARE licensed to practice in California, we only handle major plaintiff's injury claims in your state. We're out of Portland, Oregon.

Re: Vehicle Accident Liablity to Owner not Driver

She would generally be liable under the permissive use laws. And if she gave permission, her insurance would likely cover the negligent driver. In addition, under the permissive use laws, she would be liable for $15k - $30k depending on the amount of injured folks.

If she did not give permission, she would not be liable and her insurance may not pick up the tab or provide a defense (pay for a lawyer). However, she will likely still be sued and will have to defend herself.