Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania

Damage Liability

My children were playing with a group of kids near a neighbor's driveway. Some of the kids were throwing rocks, and later the neighbor complained about a small nick in his bumper's paint. I inspected the nick, and it was about the size of a large pin head. I took several photos of the nick. Two other groups of parents discused having the damage paid for by splitting the cost into thirds, as there were kids from 3 different families present when the alleged damage took place. Now I have been presented with an estimate of the damages, and the other two familes want me to pay more than what I agreed to. They want me to pay the bill split up per child at the incident, not just divided 3 ways. I had 2 children playing down the street that day, another family only had 1, and they feel that they are not as liable for the damage as I am with 2 kids present. I do not like the change in agreement here, and I do not like the fact that I am being asked to pay for something that really could have been caused by driving during any commute in the winter or over a rocky road. Should I pay this bill at all? And If so, should I just pay the amount I first agreed to?


Asked on 9/16/07, 10:16 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Daniel Cevallos Cevallos & Wong, LLP

Re: Damage Liability

You're not REQUIRED to do anything. I find it unlikely that they will file in small claims against you, but they might. You can hold your ground on the agreement, because it will be a bigger nightmare to go after you in court. The other side is, of course, that you could just pay it and be done, and take it as a lesson to be sure next time be sure your kids find something more productive to do.

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Answered on 9/16/07, 12:04 pm


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