Legal Question in Personal Injury in North Carolina

Hello,

I just wanted to run a scenario by you.

I was involved in a car accident in a colleague�s car a couple months ago. He let me drive the since the group had been drinking and it was a six speed when i9 though it was 5 so I did not put it in reverse as I thought. This caused the automobile to roll into the barrier in a parking garage and did some damage. The owner and two others were in the car when this accident happened. At first, I was willing to work and pay the gentleman but then I felt as if he was taking advantage of an unfortunate situation. The total repairs at what he felt was �reputable shop� were close to $1800. I know that this doesn�t matter (I�m venting now), the reputable shop in question was the one where his girlfriend�s brother works. He had initially made it sound like her brother owned it and that he would be getting a great deal for getting the repairs done there but this turned out to be untrue. For a second estimate, I had him go to a shop that I have used in the past. The quote at my shop was around $1300. He ended up going through his insurance (and his shop) and asked me to pay him $800 to settle up although his deductable was only $250. His reasoning was that in addition to the deductable he was seeking money for how much he felt his insurance may go up. I felt it was unfair that he charge me for expenses that he hadn�t incurred or may never incur so I told him that although I would work with him, I felt that that amount was unacceptable. He replied a few days later that he had received the car back and that it looked great and that he would accept what I felt was reasonable. Now, it was my fault that after hearing back from him Ii let about three weeks lapse and I didn�t contact him. He e-mailed on Saturday and was rather snotty in his e-mail asking me to pay $200. I do understand his point here since it is my responsibility and I dropped the ball on contacting him. I wrote him back and told him I felt $125 was reasonable and I would mail the check to his work unless I heard otherwise by Monday at 430. He insisted that I pay $200 or he would take me to court for the total amount of repairs which is $1483.

I am mailing him the check today but just had a few questions. Since I have documentation (email) of him telling me to pay what I felt is reasonable, can he really have sue me for the complete repair amount? Especially since he has already been reimbursed by his insurance company? Wouldn�t that be insurance fraud in a way? I was under the impression that the car was technically still in his possession since he did not leave me with the car in my sole possession and he was present in the car. This was why I understood that his insurance would cover the cost of his repair and mine wouldn�t (we are in North Carolina).

I do want to settle up but I don�t want to be taken advantage of.

Thanks for your help.

MP


Asked on 12/14/09, 7:04 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Kirby Law Offices of John M. Kirby

If his deductible is $250, then arguably you should pay him the deductible. It is not clear if any of the e-mails are legally binding, either because they are too vague, or because there is no "consideration." The insurance situation is somewhat complicated. Without double-checking the language of the standard policy, my hunch is that neither your policy nor his policy covers you for this damage (i.e. damage to his car), but you could look into that issue. Ideally, you would like him to agree to "release" you from any further claims. This would ideally be done by a formal document releasing you and signed by him, but if the same concept is put in a series of e-mails (suggesting his consent), then that should be sufficient. As for his suing for the whole amount (or "double-dipping"), that too is complicated; in theory, he can do this, but he would be obligated to reimburse his own insurer, such that he does not make a profit. (A related issue is whether his insurance company can sue you. As a practical matter, they probably won't do so, but in theory, they might be able to, in a "subrogation" lawsuit.) Of course, there are some equities here in your favor; you were basically doing him a favor by driving at the time; and so hopefully he will be reasonable.

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Answered on 12/19/09, 7:31 am


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