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While it's true that small claims courts are designed to work without lawyers, if there is a small claims court anywhere in the United States, Mr. Shiftright, that bars an attorney from representing a defendant, I'd like to know what it is and on what authority.
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/smallclaims/scbasics.htm#bringlawyer
And it's my understanding that many states do.
Which I agree with, by the way.
The rule is entirely different here in Ohio - see Sec. 1925.01 of the Ohio Revised Code - where attorneys are always allowed to represent the parties.
While I have much sympathy for your view, given the high ($7500?) limit in CA, I sure as hell would not want to have to defend myself without counsel if I was being sued for 5 grand or more.
If sued for auto injuries, you are obligated, usually, by contract, to notify your ins company...often, they will NOT send anyone to Magistrate Court (small claims court) simply to see how the Judge decides...we have a quirk here in GA, the party that loses in Magistrate Court has the right to appeal within 30 days to one of 2 higher courts, State Court or Superior Court, where rules of evidence apply, and it is a court of record...
It is called a "De Novo" appeal, meaning it is a brand new case, so even tho you may have lost at small claims, it is now a moot point, as the process starts over as tho you had never filed suit before...this is where your ins company has lawyers to defend you and they fight the suit on your behalf and pay out if you lose...
And you raise a good point (at least for the OP) - in reviewing CA procedure, the plaintiff has no right of appeal but a defendant does.
I think the very idea of Small Claims was to keep litigation affordable. If you let attorneys in, that all goes out the window.
Small Claims as it is, is a pretty level playing field, which is why I think it's the best source of justice available to a citizen, given the limits of his/her claim.
Nor do I think the claims level should be raised in Small Claims. This prevents punitive or endlessly dragged out ligitation on "smaller" matters.
Small Claims is for refrigerators, bad paint jobs, modest used car disputes---pretty "cut and dry" stuff. It's not for medical malfeasance during brain surgery :P
I guess with inflation I don't see $25K as too much to sue w/o involving lawyers...after all, what does it take to do, say, $18K in damages to a Mercedes, Expedition, Audi, Caddy or even a Buick???...to keep the limit so low as under $10K is, to me, ridiculous...$15K in GA is a nice step, but $25K, IMO would be more reasonable...
Mind you, that does not MANDATE anything...you can still take a $5,000 case to Superior Court if you want to, but, if you want the People's Court, raising the limit in Small Claims simply allows more cases to be heard, more than the $500 scratched refrigerator cases...
Also, something I forgot to mention, either party that loses in Magistrate has the right of de novo appeal...
It's supposed to be a "small change" type of system.
for a $25,000 claim, you can afford a lawyer and a lawyer might make sense.
Small Claims is the roll of the dice after all, decided (often) in a few minutes by a person who may or may not even be a judge, and who may not know all the ins and outs of the laws being debated.
I personally wouldn't roll a $25,000 set of dice in Small Claims.
But, if a contractor performed shoddy work, and a home remodel for just a room or two can break $25K, or a shoddy repair of a Cadillac, it would be nice to be able to sue, without an attorney, for amounts up to $25K...
Remembering that either side has the right to appeal to a higher court, I do not see this as a problem...for every loser that does NOT appeal, the system has now been un-clogged by one less case filed by some
scummy lawyer, I mean some highly skilled underpaid attorney...:):):):):):):)http://www.amazon.com/Everybodys-Guide-Small-Claims-California/dp/0873378075
Essentially I see Small Claims as a simplification process. Small amounts, private parties disputes only (in most cases), simplified rules of evidence, no attorneys, depositions, complicated maneuvers, etc. I'd hate to see this altered, although really the entire concept of Small Claims is relatively new to American history, so I guess any rule one can make up, one can change. It's a great way to get compensated for shoddy repairs and a great way to throw your deadbeat tenant out of the apartment...or to get your damage deposit back from your deadbeat landlord :shades:
I just see the amount in question as higher than you do, that's all...
No sweet cheeks, I knew exactly what you were trying to do. All I did was "reverse" your point to prove that your point was in fact pointless.
Thanks
If the roof was bent out of shape, will the new windshield never leak?
There are different kinds of DV and it doesn't necessarily have to include anything about the repairs being done poorly or inferior parts being used. Even if the car was fixed perfectly and looks fabulous, you can still have Diminished Value.
You WILL have diminished value, in fact, on a $12,000 hit. That's a given.
The draft that pays to have it fixed has a "Release" statement just above where the Claimant signs the draft over to the body shop. Doesn't that "Release" say "Accepting this payment releases the insurer and insured from any and all claims arising as a result of the accident stated herein."
After signing the "Release" how do you still have a position to seek DV?
I believe you might be referring to medical claims.
You can't sue your own insurance company (in some states) for DV, but I haven't heard that you can't sue on a third party claim.
But then, I don't know insurance law in all 50 states. In California, you certainly can file a DV claim.
This does raise an interesting question though - is DV part and parcel of a property damage claim or is it separate? It seems to me that it is the former.
Question is asked because your own carrier pays under your policy for UMPD.
However.............
In that you're buying PD Liability for the adverse party, I opine the UMPD should include DV.
So basically you are demanding that the insurance company make restitution for its negligence in restoring the full value of your loss.
Of course, most insurance companies will karate chop you the minute you bring up a DV claim, but they cannot legally refuse to accept consideration of such a claim IMO.
DV is resultant damage of an at fault crash otherwise known as a legal wrong. The at fault insurance company includes the DV to be paid under the Insured's Property Damage Liability coverage. Other items payable under PD Liability are Rental Expense, Loss of Use, & other expenses that are a result of the crash.
As in other facets of the claim, the innocent party has to prove and present his DV claim to the Claims Manager of the opposing company.
Each price guide uses different methods and their "values" may represent different things. Kelley could be "dealer asking prices", or it could be "dealer selling prices as reported by the dealer" whereas Edmunds or someone else could be reporting private party REALIZED prices as gathered by Edmunds, not reported by a dealer.
Guide books are just that "guide" books. The insurance company uses an appraiser and so should you, if you don't agree with them. Keep in mind that some states REQUIRE an insurance company to total a car if the percentage of damage is too high versus the Fair Market value.
Before you hire your own appraiser, do some research, say on Craigslist, or autotrader.com, of COMPARABLE cars to yours---trim level, mileage, exterior and interior condition. An Eddie Bauer with 20,000 miles and pristine condition is not an Eddie Bauer with 120,000 miles and 4 dents in it.
If you find in your research that the MAJORITY of the cars you see are NOT selling at Kelley's price, then chances are you shouldn't bother hiring an appraiser and going to arbitration to battle it out.
Also if the damage estimate is very close to the Kelley Value, you probably will not get the car repaired even if they offer you more money.
Here's a sample ad I found:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/car/708819160.html
If you want to hire an appraiser, that will cost about $250. Then if the insurance company doesn't offer you more money, you will have to go to arbitration which will cost you about $300 for the referee + another fee for your appraiser to represent you. So it's going to cost you about $700 to fight the insurance company, and probably the referee will give you that back if nothing else.
Personally, if I were you, I'd look around and find out what it REALLY would cost you to buy a substitute vehicle, and then ask for that amount, without going to your own appraiser. The insurance company may cough up. But if you shove a Kelley Blue Book in front of them, they aren't likely to dislodge their position based strictly on that evidence.
I've been calling my insurance company with VINs to get rates, but since so many different cars are being looked at, it's getting to be a real pain in the butt.
I guess I'm looking for some database of cars that provides an "insurability" rating of some sort. Where I can quickly and easily see that car "A" would be ~20% more expensive to insure than car "B". Again, I don't need $$ amounts, just something with relative costs. Anyone know of any such thing?
Thanks!!
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
You might want to chat with your agent to see if they agree.
And, I know I've said this more than once on these boards, but I strongly believe that the
kidnew driver should pay their own insurance, plus have an amount in the bank equal to the deductible on the policy.That's all covered.. I must be doing something right since she keeps telling me "it's not fair!".
The only time I heard that was when I took back her car keys for a week & when she started to rant some more, I said you just lost the privilege for two weeks. Want to try for a month?
The agreement was that the savings covered the deductible, then they couldn't resume driving until that amount was replentished in the savings account.
Am going thru the same thing (scroll back a few messages) wherein the other person's insurance company won't offer a reasonable/fair settlement. I've chosen small claims court as the method of resolution. Let the judge decide. Court date is July 11th.
I'm suing the lady who hit me, not her insurance carrier. Cost $75 to file the claim. $30 for the sheriff to serve the summons. Took all of 10 minutes to get it done.
Best of luck.
http://moneycentral.msn.com/marketplace/home.aspx?iMarketID=8
At the top, there's a pull-down with auto brands.
I'm not exactly sure how they choose the cars on the list.. Chevy Cavalier (no longer made) is there, but Nissan 200SX (also no longer made) isn't. But again, it's a start.
I'd really appreciate it if I can get some advice on my case.
My car was parked legally on a downtown street a couple weeks ago. When I returned to my car a few hours later, the back of the car was smashed. Police left a notes for me to call.
While I was examing the damage, someone came by. Apparently, he was the witness and he saw a Lowe delivery truck hit my car, and was fleeing the scene. He and a few others chased down the driver. The driver claimed that he didn't see the crash.
Anyway, they called police and filed a police report.
I contacted my insurance company (Geico). They immediately contacted Lowes. They fully admitted that it was their fault, and I was asked to work with their insurance company.
Here is the problem:
The insurance company has been very difficult to deal with. They called me and said "we plan to declare your car a total lost. And we'll offer you $6,000. And minus the savage value. We'll not keep your car."
I asked "why do I have to take the car back". They said that "because we don't keep your car". I pressed "it's illegal for you to force me to take the car back". She said "well, what do you want? do you want to take the car back or not"? I said that "I cannot make a decision until I got all of the information you promised me."
The interaction with this company has been like this -- I really think they're walking a fine line -- some of the stuff they're doing are not legal technically, I think.
Anyway, here are my questions:
1) am I better off if I ask my own insurance company to handle this? (geico is my own insurance company, and they seems to be much easy to deal with, although I haven't talked to them about numbers yet.)
2) how should I negotiate with this other insurance company? is this pretty typical of how insurance company works?
3) how should I come up with a fair assessment of the market value of my car? I'm looking at the "appraisal" section of Edmunds. I'll check KBB.com as well. Are their data accurate?
4) Would it help if I contact Lowes to complain about the insurance company? This is completely their fault, and they need to take care of it.
thanks in advance for any tips you might have.
thanks.
Settle with Geico because you work better with them. Eventually, they will subrogate and you will get most if not all of your deductible back.
A couple of questions:
1) I've spent quite a bit of time taking time off to go to the body shop, and deal with this matter. can i ask for compensation?
2) i'm still waiting for the at-fault party's insurnace company to get back to me (they're waiting for savage value report.) can I switch to my own insurance company now? will the other insurance company asks me to pay for the rental that they've been providing me?
The easiest would be to let Geico to total your car, take your car, and let them go after Lowes, and yes, you will get your deductible back...the drawback I see to this is this: is it truly damaged so badly that GEICO will also total it???...you might be upset if Geico said they could fix it for $4,000, and you will wish you could bring back the "total" from the idiots at Lowes...if there are $10K in damages, so that ANY ins would total it, you're OK with Geico...
Check all sources for what your car is reasonably worth...the operative phrase is "reasonably worth"...if it is a Honda Accord, currently in demand with $4.00 per gallon gas, you may get decent value...if you have an Expedition, don't be surprised if Internet values are way too high...here is GA, dealers have signs out front that say right up front "we will NOT take your SUV in trade"...so the Explorer that KBB says is worth $10K may now be worth $4K in the real world, since no one wants a gas guzzler...
Sadly, your time going back and forth to the body shop has no compensable value...Lowes should pay for the car rental, but, keep in mind, once you are paid for your total, they really do not have to pay for a rental anymore...sometimes they will for an extra day or so, but don't hold your breath...
Be careful what you wish for, you might get it...
Send me your name and address, so I can bill you for my time...:):):):):)...when's the last time you heard of a cheap lawyer???
Uh, OK, here, and only here, am I a cheap lawyer, but, I gotta tell ya, this pro bono stuff is killing me...
I can hear the anxiety from here....
My wife says it is a tribute to my level of professionality & so it is with you.
Just curious.
Thanks and best of luck.