by macabia2004 » Sat Jan 23, 2010 10:51 pm
Insurance compnay of a driver that drove in to my house and came out the other side of it.
His insurance company are trying to avoid full payment for the repairs needed by relying on a false statement by their client that says some other car pushed him behind, and he lost control, and drove straight through my house.
My own insurance agent says that this is a way for the insurance company to ""protect" the interest of their own clients... Can I sue them for the full damages their client caused my house, and what are the exact forms, at what court?
Thanks.
His insurance company are trying to avoid full payment for the repairs needed by relying on a false statement by their client that says some other car pushed him behind, and he lost control, and drove straight through my house.
My own insurance agent says that this is a way for the insurance company to ""protect" the interest of their own clients... Can I sue them for the full damages their client caused my house, and what are the exact forms, at what court?
Thanks.
Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 02:46 pm Post Subject:
Can I sue them for the full damages their client caused my house, and what are the exact forms, at what court
You can't sue them...you'll need to sue the guy that was driving/owned the car...Frankly this should be an easy one to figure out...if he was indeed hit in the rear first there should be clear collision damage to the rear of his vehicle, even if he did go thru your house, that should still be able to be seen (or not).Your best way to handle this (IMO) would be to have your homeowners policy fix your house. They will then in turn subrogate the at fault party(s). They will include your deductible in their subrogation claim. Have you not filed a claim with your HO carrier?
Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 04:45 pm Post Subject:
Ditto. If a force was strong enough to push someone up and through a home, then there is going to be some damage. Also, I'd doubt a force that strong is going to allow that other vehicle to just drive away. Lastly, if it was a minor impact I'd say it would be easy to show that the person who drove through your come over reacted, or did not retain reasonable control of their vehicle after that initial impact... so they should at least have some liability in this matter.
It's my guess that your damages would exceed the amount allowed in small claims court. Also, if you are not sure who to file suit against, you may not be able to prove the other party is at fault. If you loose, it's binding for all time (an appeal would be next to impossible to win) and no one would ever be able to collect.
Better to file under your home owners policy and have them pursue recovery.
Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 05:14 pm Post Subject: What are the forms, and what is the court involved in suing
Well.. I already filed with the driver's insurance company, the problem I have is the this house is one that I rebuild at this time and my insurance company told me I can not have a HO insurance on a vacant house ( Yongstown ,OH is a high risk area for HO insurance...)
My problem is that the his insurance company don't want to pay the full amount ( he has only 15K for property damage) They want to pay only %60, and the damages are estimated at close to 30K... This is why I am seeking to sue his insurance company.
I am still looking for advice of What court should I file at, and what are the forms to use. Anyone knows the answer for this?
Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 05:43 pm Post Subject:
Again, you cannot sue his insurance company as they did not cause your loss.
It appears that they are willing to pay their policy limits, no? If so, blaming a phantom vehicle is moot as they cannot pay more then their limits anyway.
In order for them to issue their policy limits, they will require that you sign a release. This release basically bars you from seeking any additional payment on your loss, period.
You can file in whatever court you want... small claims or District. Small claims courts have a limit in damages that you can seek. A higher court is really going to dictate that you have legal representation. Otherwise there would be a _very good_ chance you'd loose. If you file a Complaint in court, the other person's insurance company is going to provide their insured a defense. They are also going to offer the court their $15,000. If you obtain a judgement for more then $15k, you would get the $15k from the other person's carrier and a nice piece of paper called a Judgment that you can use to seek legal means in obtaining payment from the other party. Your state many allows wages to be garnished or you may be able to attached a lien to certain property that the other person owes. This is another legal hurdle you would need to jump. That is, a judgement does not mean the other person simply hands over the money that they owe.
Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 06:42 pm Post Subject:
This is why I am seeking to sue his insurance company.
For the fourth time..you CAN'T you HAVE to sue the guy that hit your house...period.....I am still looking for advice of What court should I file at, and what are the forms to use. Anyone knows the answer for this?
Does your jurisdiction allow a layman to file in ANY court above small claims? doubt it....and I can guarantee you that when the driver gets ANY summons for this accident, his carrier HAS to provide a defense, which means they will have an attorney.Besides that..it sounds to me like they have offered you his policy limits..
My problem is that the his insurance company don't want to pay the full amount ( he has only 15K for property damage) They want to pay only %60, and the damages are estimated at close to 30K...
It doesn't matter what they 'want' to pay or not pay..this has nothing to do with it! They ONLY have 15k period..they cannot pay more than the guys limit...and you cannot accept this limit and then sue him. The carrier is doing all that they can do...Your ONLY alternative is to sue the guy...get an excess judgement, his carrier will still ONLY pay his limit of 15k, then you can spend some more money and time trying to collect the rest from him directly....period...that's it...no more options...other than of course taking the 15k policy limits and claiming the rest on your income tax..Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 07:23 pm Post Subject:
You get upset too fast, and you do not read all that I said..
1) The limit of this guy's insurance policy is 15K.
2) The insurance company want to pay ONLY %60 of that amount ( about 9K)
I am seeking to sue the insurance company for the rest ( up to the policy limit which is again 15K
Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 07:35 pm Post Subject:
And to your other assumptions... YES, I can sue the insurance company itself, as THEY are the one's that rely on a fly-by-night story from the driver to "so-Called" protect him from the high increase in his rate he will face if they agree that it is %100 his fault, and they need to pay his full policy limits. The bottom line is that this is their way of paying less.
And YES, I can sue them at Civil court, and I can file myself as "Pro-Se" and I can win as well.
Been there, and done it before...
Sorry I could not get an advice for you guys, as it looks like I am well off on my own here...
Lawyers are NOT smarter then you and me, They just charge MUCH more for what you and me can do with simple logic, and some determination.
And to finish this wit a positive note...:
"Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well being of yourself or the ones dear to you is at stake."
Just MY two cents.
Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 08:08 pm Post Subject:
If it's truly a question of a degree of negligence then it's handled as follows:
Total amount of the loss
- percentage of liability
and _then_ the limits are considered.
So if you have a $30k loss (as you state) and they are accepting 60% liability, then the amount they are considering is in excess of their insureds $15k policy limits. So they should be offering the $15k. Something is not adding up.
If you think you can sue the insurance company... feel free to do so. Be prepared for a Summary Judgment and the insurance company to be dismissed even before you walk into a court room.
Here is how it works.... you suffered a loss. Who is responsible for your loss? That is the _only_ party you have a valid complaint against. The insurance company is not paying what you think that they should pay but you are confusing this with who caused your _loss_. The insurance company has NO obligation to you what so ever. Read that again. If they wanted, they could simply tell you that they just don't feel like paying you one penny. They did not cause your loss and you have no contract with them.
Pro-se has nothing to do with who you filed a lawsuit against... it means you are representing yourself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_se_legal_representation_in_the_United_States
Lawyers are NOT smarter then you and me
Sorry... but when it come to the law and comes to trials, they are WAY smarter then you and I. They certainly know what Pro se means.Trust me when I say this...
Can I sue them for the full damages their client caused my house, and what are the exact forms, at what court
If you are asking these questions, you are not smarter then an attorney and you _certainly_ don't understand how the legal system works. I'm not trying to be insulting, I'm really trying to make you understand that you could not misunderstand the situation more then you do now.If you want, take my opening statement and explain. The numbers you mention don't add up.
Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 12:02 am Post Subject:
I am just doing a copy/paste o my previous post:
Please read it again.
1) The limit of this guy's insurance policy is ":""15K."""
2) The insurance company want to pay ONLY %60 of that amount ( about""" 9K""")
I am seeking to sue the insurance company for the rest ( up to the policy limit which is again 15K)
Now that we got that clear, next item is this,People get insurance coverage so that when something happens to them ( Accident, Illness, Death,) The Insurance company takes care of that, and PAY them or the party they caused damage to ( as Third party car insurance, or Property liability insurance)
I CAN, and most likely will sue the person himself in small claims court, but is a different story.
Thanks for all you help, and for shedding light on my path.
Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 12:39 am Post Subject:
I read it... but either this is incorrect or the way you explain it does not explain the situation so that anyone can understand.
Lets try to work this from the start. It appears the other carrier is only accepting partial liability. If so, what percentage is _this_ amount? By saying what percentage of the limits is being paid leave way too many variables.
Now that we got that clear, next item is this,People get insurance coverage so that when something happens to them ( Accident, Illness, Death,) The Insurance company takes care of that, and PAY them or the party they caused damage to ( as Third party car insurance, or Property liability insurance)
This is only partially true and also incorrect in your situation. People obtain insurance in order to protect _themselves_. The don't get insurance to protect other people. This is important to understand. This is exactly what the other person's carrier is doing... they are protecting _their_ insured. They don't feel their insured is 100% at fault so they are willing to settle for less then 100%. What you _want_ does not enter into the equation. You have your opinion, they have theirs. Neither is right nor wrong until a judge rules on it as a matter of law.I CAN, and most likely will sue the person himself in small claims court, but is a different story.
Yup, that is what people have been telling you the entire time. This works as long as your states small claims court allows damages in excess of what the other carrier is offering. If not, you are wasting your time and money.I still think there is some confusion of which some good information could be shared. But it all stems on what percentage of liability the carrier is accepting. Someone's math may be incorrect or someone does not understand how this should work.
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