Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Georgia
Accident causing broken property
My daughter, age 15, was at a friend's house for his birthday party on a recent Sunday. While at the party she accidentally caused another friend to drop & break her camera. This girl's mother, before even giving us the opportunity to volunteer to do the right thing much less think about it, immediately started threatening a lawsuit. Both me and my husband have talked to her trying to work something out and offered a camera I have that is comparable to the one broken. Instead the woman is bent on taking this to court and dragging teenagers in there with her to testify. No witnesses saw what happened but she claims she has witnesses to my daughter confessing afterwards as well as a written confession from her thru MySpace. She DID confess to causing the ACCIDENT that resulted in the camera's breakage. Everyone I spoke to said that though noone saw it happen all parties heard my daughter and the other girl tell what happened afterwards and admit that it was an accident. I do not want to see teens drug into court but my daughter & husband do not want to give in. What is your advice on this? Does she have a case?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Accident causing broken property
A big piece of the story is missing. What do the other parents want? What kind of court action are they threatening - civil or criminal? "Give in" to what? Notwithstanding, one option is rather obvious - buy them a NEW camera identical (or as close as possible) to the camera that was broken.
Re: Accident causing broken property
Mr. Riddle's advice is probably the best advice you will receive. But a word or two on the law:
Accidents happen all the time. Some accidents give raise to liability. The question is whether or not your daughter was "negligent" under the law. Negligence is, "The failure to use the reasonable care that a prudent person would have used under the same or similar circumstances." The circumstances of the "accident" will be considered by the trier of fact (judge/jury) and the trier of fact will determine if your daughter was negligent.
Which brings me back to Mr. Riddle and his suggestion. Do you really want to spend the time and expense of going to court? If the camera was expensive, you might wish to have your day in court. If it was inexpensive, buy a new one or offer to pay for the old one (if you go to court and loose you will have to pay a depreciated cost of the camera (if not brand new) and court costs. On the other hand, the case may never be filed.
If the camera was expensive, check your homeowner's insurance policy and you might find that it is covered.
This answer, though responsive to the question, is general in nature. It is not designed to be and should not be relied on as your sole source of information when analyzing and resolving a specific legal issue. Each fact situation is different; the laws are constantly changing. If you have specific questions regarding a particular fact situation, I urge you to consult with competent legal counsel.
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