Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Florida
I live in the state of Florida. in March of 2010 an old lady hit me in a walmart parking lot while i was backing out of a parking space. the driver rear side of my car collided with the passenger rear of her car. she was attempting to come up behind and park in a spot after taking a U-Turn. no damage was done to her vehicle, however my taillight was busted out. she insisted on calling the police (fine, whatever) after stating that she had been in MANY ACCIDENTS where the other person did not have insurance. no one was injured. i have a witness in my car.
about 6 months later i get a letter asking for my insurance information AGAIN because i guess she filed a claim for something... so i send it off. nothing happens and then another 3-6 months goes by and i get another letter asking for the SAME information. so i send it again. nothing happens. now 4 years letter i am being sued by her insurance company for $5,000 subrogation because she somehow claims to have been injured. the letter i received is trying to claim that i acted with negligence in operating my vehicle and that i caused the accident (which is not even close to being true- but that is neither here nor there. florida is a no-fault state). So now this lady's insurance company is trying to claim it is entitled to subrogation to the tune of $5000... 4 years later.
So far, a pre-trial conference has been scheduled and postponed three times. i keep receiving letters of motions to stay/abate the case because "the uninsured/undersigned motorist claim relative to the injured claimant has not yet been resolved and thus, Plaintiff had filed this instant cause to toll the Statute of Limitations pursuant to Chapter 95" and "Plaintiff requests this matter be stayed or abate until such time that the UM Claim is resolved in order to allow the Plaintiff to amend its Complaint".
I have a basic understanding of what this means, thanks to the internet, but was hoping it could be explained a little further. I am also wondering HOW LONG can this attorney keep postponing this case? I find it completely crazy to keep stringing me along for months and months after 4 years have gone by (especially when this accident was not even my fault and this lady was most certainly not injured). I have a job and a family to take care of. is there something i can do to petition the court to dismiss this case? I feel it is bordering on harassment now and I almost want to counter sue for the money I spent to replace my tail light (out of principle). Or for pain and suffering!
What can i do to have this dismissed? How long can they stay the case?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Discuss it with your attorney who is in the best position to advise you on this matter. It is impossible to discuss without seeing all the documents. the timing of the case is up to the Judge. The matter cannot summarily be dismissed, but the Judge is the one who can push it forward. You cannot counter sue this late in the game, whatever rights you did have were waived when the suit was not timely filed. There is no pain and suffering for dealing with the litigation.
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