Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania
Car Accident
My car was hitted by a lady in Penn 10 days ago and then she asked to settle it privately because she said calling a police will raise her insurance. I agree with her since she seemed so sincere and apologized to me all the time. So after finding a mechanic shop for estimate, she gave me a check. But yesterday I received the returned check which was stopped by her. I phoned her but she did not pick up the phone. I've kept the estimate report, the returned check and her phone number. Is it possible for me to sue her in the small claim court in Penn and what should I do next? Moverover, I failed to find such court in Penn's website. Is it called specail civil court there?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Car Accident
Yes, you can file in small claims court. If the accident occurred in Philadelphia, you would file in Philadelphia Municipal Court (information at http://courts.phila.gov/mccv.html). If it occurred in another county, you need to locate the District Justice Court closest to where the accident occurred or the defendant lives; try telephone information or the phone book blue pages. If you have insurance, you may want to file the claim through your own insurance company and let it pursue the other driver for reimbursement.
Re: Car Accident
you not only can sue her in PA but also in NJ for passing a bad check. In PA, file in the small claims court, in New Jersey it is called Special Civil Part. If you are injured, you should sue her for your injuries as well.
Re: Car Accident
The other attys have given you good advice and information, but I'd go further. This is MORAL advice, not really legal, but it may help to encourage this woman to do the right thing, and stop screwing you (and hopefully others in the future). I will assume that you have her driver license number, tag number, and hopefully her insurance information (ALWAYS get this information!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).
My attitude is to give people the benefit of the doubt, and try to help or cooperate with them. People that abuse that kindness make it harder for everyone to be kind to each other, and they should be punished when possible to discourage this undesireable behavior in the future. So, I'd then file an accident report with the local police and send a letter with a copy of the police report to PA DMV. Some police are less cooperative than others, and you may only be able to file an "incident report". The head of the PA and NJ DMV have a LOT of discretion, as driving is considered a privilage, not a right. There is a small possibility that PA DMV will sanction her in some way, which she deserves.
Please continue to be kind when you can, but try to do what you can to protect yourself in the future. Personally, last fall I was struck from behind. I spoke with the office and explained that someone slammed on their brakes in th eleft hand lane, to make an illegal left hand U-turn and several cars almost collided. I told the officer that it would have been extremely difficult for anyone to stop before hitting me, but I asked that she NOT be issued a ticket. It was just an accident basically caused by an asshole. The office cooperated, so I was protected, and the woman was delighted that I was so insistent that she not be issued a ticket. Everyone was happy (considering the circumstances).
Good luck to you, and I hope she gets likes she gives.
Kevin J. Begley
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