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Here's my problem, in a nutshell... A lady backed out of her parking spot right into the side of my new car. She said her insurance just lapsed the week before and she hadn't renewed it yet, so could she pay in cash. I had no problem with this, so I took her info. Called her the next day with the estimate, she said she'd call back later that day. Never heard from her again, and this was two months ago.
My problem is, if I file under my insurance, I have to pay out my deductible of a thousand bucks (which I don't have), then take her to small claims to re-coop it. I have no interest in doing this, lol.
According to my friend, Geico will contact her to recoop their payout, but when they find out she's uninsured, they will likely walk away, since their payout is only about $700 (not worth going to court over), and I'm basically on my own to re-coop my grand. Is this accurate?
Also, does anyone have experience with NY small claims court in a similar situation? I basically have her name, phone number, and plate #. I also have call logs showing I contacted her about 10 times over the past two months, either leaving messages or speaking to her or a family member. I do not have a report from the accident, but I plan on filing one now (not as concrete, but still good to have).
I've driven by her address a few times but her car is never there. Through my investigation, I concluded that she doesn't live at the addy she gave me, but rather in Ronkonkoma (which is where this occured, and where her phone number is listed). I've been trying to track down her actual address using the license plate, but I haven't been able to do so. I've tried cops I know, but no one can get it. Does anyone know how I can obtain the name and address off a plate in NYS? I want to go to the house to get pics of the car for my case (if she hasn't fixed it yet).
Anyway, and advice related to my questions above would be great. I'm hoping someone with actual knowledge and not just assumptions can help. I also don't need any lectures on not calling the cops, etc. What's done is done.
Here's my problem, in a nutshell... A lady backed out of her parking spot right into the side of my new car. She said her insurance just lapsed the week before and she hadn't renewed it yet, so could she pay in cash. I had no problem with this, so I took her info. Called her the next day with the estimate, she said she'd call back later that day. Never heard from her again, and this was two months ago.
My problem is, if I file under my insurance, I have to pay out my deductible of a thousand bucks (which I don't have), then take her to small claims to re-coop it. I have no interest in doing this, lol.
According to my friend, Geico will contact her to recoop their payout, but when they find out she's uninsured, they will likely walk away, since their payout is only about $700 (not worth going to court over), and I'm basically on my own to re-coop my grand. Is this accurate?
Also, does anyone have experience with NY small claims court in a similar situation? I basically have her name, phone number, and plate #. I also have call logs showing I contacted her about 10 times over the past two months, either leaving messages or speaking to her or a family member. I do not have a report from the accident, but I plan on filing one now (not as concrete, but still good to have).
I've driven by her address a few times but her car is never there. Through my investigation, I concluded that she doesn't live at the addy she gave me, but rather in Ronkonkoma (which is where this occured, and where her phone number is listed). I've been trying to track down her actual address using the license plate, but I haven't been able to do so. I've tried cops I know, but no one can get it. Does anyone know how I can obtain the name and address off a plate in NYS? I want to go to the house to get pics of the car for my case (if she hasn't fixed it yet).
Anyway, and advice related to my questions above would be great. I'm hoping someone with actual knowledge and not just assumptions can help. I also don't need any lectures on not calling the cops, etc. What's done is done.
Thanks!
My suggestion is to contact your insurance company immediately.They will probably tell you to contact the police and file a report even though it's after the fact.I do hope that you have her drivers license number and it's a NYS license.I also hope that it was her in the picture.The police can find her current address even if she moved most of the time.Your insurance company will try to recoup from her company and if your car is undriveable and you need a rental they'll do what's called subrogation which is that your ins co. pays for the rental,you save the receipt and then they go after her company.I worked for a car rental company years ago so i've seen this before and usually it works out in the end but i'd call the ins.co. ASAP. Good Luck!!!!
i had it happen that i got the info from a guy who hit me once but i never bothered to confirm that the plates actually matched the car... when he didnt pay me for the damages i sued him. we went to court and because he actually took his sisters plates and put them on his car nothing matched.
i lost the case... my mistake was i didnt call the cops to take a report at the scene. they may have realized the plates and car didnt match
be aware also that in nys a police report is not admisable in court either... someone can admit it was their fault at the scene and they are free to change ther story later as that report cant be used in court
dont forget the cop didnt see the accident. you talk, he writes, telling the cop at the scene the accident wasnt your fault carrys no more weight than saying it was your fault.
since officers arent allowed to go to court for traffic accidents unless death, crime or very very serious injury is involved you cant cross examine an accident report.....
they wont even read a report in court. the report merly serves as evidence that an accident took place and information was verified about drives identity ... without a police report there is no evidence the accident ever took place
I had to take a guy to court as he crashed into me, his ins paid the damage but not the deductible. Why should I be out the $500 when it was completely his fault.
I never got the money but did haul his rear end to court twice ; the first time his dad rescheduled. The second time he showed up had had no excuse.
I would get a police report on this. It really bothers me when people drive around without insurance, then give you wrong info. Make the report ; at least then the ins company and the court system will know you are serious.
Good luck. You may never get the money owed, but dont let it sit. You can bet your bottom dollar that she would sue you if it was reversed.
The biggest mistake you made was not calling the cops on the spot. They could have written in their field report that the woman agreed to pay for the damage herself rather than through the insurance company. They wouldn't have run licenses, etc if there was an agreement between the two of you.
Your next step is to take her to Small Claims Court. You would serve her at BOTH addresses (the one she gave you and the one you found). Your biggest problem is, even if you win in Small Claims, there's no guarantee you're going to get your money. You can get a judgment against her, but then you have to go about getting the $$ on your own. Not trying to be funny, but see if you can get on The People's Court ---- at least you'll be guaranteed to get your money since the production company pays the judgment (and you end up getting more ---- From what a friend told me, they have a 5K pot. The winner gets their judgment out of that and the remainder is split between the 2 litigants)
be aware also that in nys a police report is not admisable in court either...
This is not the least bit true ---- in Small Claims Court, you don't have to prove anything "beyond a reasonable doubt". All you have to show is that the "propensity of the evidence" shows the party is guilty --- and a part of this would be any writings, recordings, photos, etc. If you have the police on the scene and they write in their report that _________ admitted the accident is his/her fault and agrees to pay the other party rather than go through insurance, then that report is fully admissible in Small Claims Court.
its 100% true,,,, had it done to my buddy...... absolutely no report can be used without the cop. judge said it was heresay..
she said no court in nys can accept a police report as any evidence without the officer being able to be cross examnined.... she wouldnt even read it.... in the mean time the guy made a statement to police that he hit my buddy accidently.... now hes in court because he changed his story to my buddy hit him.... we figured what a slam dunk , we have the police report...... nope, could NOT even use it..
Anyone is free to change, alter or recant their story as a police report is not a sworn or marandized statement... your free to say you know when i got home and was a little more relaxed i realized more clearly what happened , bingo changed story
think about it, if you had said you didnt cause the accident to the cop does that mean you didnt? of course not.... you talk he writes...
Take this scammer to court, sue her (sometimes pressure will make people crack and perhaps you'll collect from her), get your judgment, and when she doesn't pay, hire a collection agency. So you lose some $, but you'll also get some back. As another poster said, this scammer would be yelling and screaming and sueing you if a con artist did this to her. And in the end you'll feel satisfied that you followed up with this and can put it all behind you.
Just goes to show what kind of unethical, scheming Moderator cut: language (oops, I mean people) we're having to live with.
Last edited by nancy thereader; 04-17-2009 at 04:22 PM..
The only recourse you have is to attempt to take her to court. I would be surprised if a Police officer takes a report since it is two months after the fact and it is against most PD's policies to entertain an accident after 2 months. Technically the other party did not do anything illegal since she fulfilled her obligation to stop and exchange information. Your best option at the time of the accident was to call a PD and exchange info in his presence. The officer would not do a report but he would have had a field report done.
This is not the least bit true ---- in Small Claims Court, you don't have to prove anything "beyond a reasonable doubt". All you have to show is that the "propensity of the evidence" shows the party is guilty --- and a part of this would be any writings, recordings, photos, etc. If you have the police on the scene and they write in their report that _________ admitted the accident is his/her fault and agrees to pay the other party rather than go through insurance, then that report is fully admissible in Small Claims Court.
Better brush up on your law.... nys law cplr 4518 forbids police reports without the officer seeing the accident or testifying in court
Court Ruling
In order to render a decision, Judge Lindley reviewed CPLR 4518(a) which states a police report is admissible as a business record when the officer who completed the report was a witness or the person who provided the information for the report was under a duty to impart such information to the officer, (Johnson v. Lutz, 253 NY 124 [1930]; Prince Richardson on Evidence Section 8-307 [Farrell 11th ed]).
Here the officer who completed the report did not witness the collision and the person who provided the information contained in the police report was not under a duty to do so, wrote Judge Lindley in the decision for the court. Thus, the report is not admissible under the business record exception to the hearsay rule (Holliday v. Hudson Armored Car & Courier, 301 AD2d 392 [1st Dept. 2003]; Mooney v. Osowiecky, 235 AD2d 603 [3d Dept. 1997]; Nahrebeski v. Molnar, 286 AD2d 891 [4th Dept. 2001]).
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