Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

You can sue for damages being the diminution in trade-in value between a car that is just used and one that is used AND totaled, but the problem is that you will have a difficult time proving the amount AND courts don't like it when the people being sued can even have the situation evaluated -- you got rid of the evidence. However, the way it normally works is this: if you had insurance (collision?) and your insurance company had paid you for the loss, then if a third party was responsible for the damage (whether or not THEY had insurance), your insurance company would go after them to be reimbursed what they paid you. AND, since they sue on your behalf if they recover MORE than what they paid you (unlikely because there are attorney fees and court costs and settlements usually take those things also into account), but it happens) then you are supposed to get the excess.