Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

One night we were all at a party and after the party I decided to drive a couple of us up to the bar which is really close but I hadn't drank a lot and it was my friends car. Some of the other people were walking down the ally and my buddy was walking really slow about ten feet in front of me. He was doing this to mess with me and not let me through. So from a dead stop I drove at him not going fast at all. By the time I got to him I was almost at a stop.He then proceed to jump on the hood of the car but he jumped so hard that he not only dented it but ripped the entire paint off of the spots where his feet hit. The entire hood has to be replaced now and its is around $900. I did drive at him going maybe 5 mph and it was a very short distance and I was coming to a stop as he jumped on the hood. His argument is that we were both messing a around and he thought I was going to hit him and my argument is that I was messing around and he knows I wouldn't of hit him and then he proceed to jump on the hood with enough force to not only dent it but to ripe the paint all up. He is saying that it is 50/50 for paying on the hood but I am just confused on why I should pay when I didn't do that actual damage and we all know that I wasn't going to hit him...Also this is my college roommate and friend since middle school and I was driving someone else car. Yes I was messing with him but he 1) didn't need to jump and 2) when he did jump he jumped with a lot of force onto the hood. Please tell me thoughts on the subject and any questions. Thanks


Asked on 2/17/14, 7:56 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas Moens Moens Law Offices, Chartered

This is not a real estate question, but since you are simply asking for thoughts on the subject here they are. Since you were both being idiots in some form, splitting the cost of the repairs seems pretty darn reasonable to me. If things went sideways and your friend was severely injured, you can bet your insurance company would not be pleased with your "messing with him." I would suggest that you both are fortunate that the only damage was to the car. While you were not the one who jumped on the hood, by your own admission you were participating in the messing around behavior, and you were the one in control of what is essentially a dangerous weapon. You could have stopped and waited while he finally got out of your way, but you chose to play along with the game. Assuming you might disagree with my thoughts on the subject, would you really sue your roommate and friend since middle school over $450 (remember, he is already willing to pay $450, you would be suing him essentially for the half he is not willing to pay)?

Again, these are just my thoughts on the subject, having been involved in similar idiotic endeavors many years ago and having a fair knowledge of the costs of litigation, both financial and emotional, as well as the rather low possibility that you would be successful in court. All in all, I would say the two of you learned a valuable lesson rather cheaply considering what could have happened.

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Answered on 2/17/14, 8:22 am


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