QUESTION
Can I sue my neighbor for damages to my car?
Asked on May 18th, 2013 on Personal Injury - Rhode Island
More details to this question:
My neighbors were having a party and were serving liquor. My car is parked in the street in front of my house. A guest left the party. While leaving he caused damages to my car. My neighbor refuses to say who was at the party.
10 ANSWERS
Try reporting the claim to your own insurance company if you have coverage for property damage and then they can try dealing with the neighbor.
Answered on May 23rd, 2013 at 1:27 PM
Car/Auto Accident Attorney serving Hacienda Heights, CA
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Gary Lee Platt
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Merely serving alcohol at a party will NOT subject the neighbor to liability if your car is damaged by an unknown driver. You will likely never be able to prove that alcohol had ANY relationship to the cause of the accident. The best you can do is file a lawsuit and subpoena the neighbor to be deposed, which would force him/her to appear and answer questions under oath. If the neighbor refuses to appear or answer questions, you may be able to have him/her cited for contempt to enforce the subpoena and, by doing so, may be able to force the neighbor to tell you who was at the party. However, that still doesn't get you much closer to knowing which vehicle/which party guest was responsible for the damage to your car. Without a witness, you can only speculate about which one was responsible. You might be able to find out by hiring an investigator, however, the cost for doing so and the time involved in finding out might be more than it's worth.
Answered on May 21st, 2013 at 11:52 PM
Ronald A. Steinberg
Sue the neighbor for failing to divulge. Better yet, make a police report and they may charge your neighbor criminally for failing to divulge. They will charge the bad guy for leaving the scene of an accident.
Answered on May 21st, 2013 at 1:21 PM
Personal Injury Attorney serving Charlotte, NC
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Paul Whitfield and Associates P.A.
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Nope. Your claim is against whoever did the damage. If your neighbor is uncooperative there are bigger problems than you tell me of
Answered on May 21st, 2013 at 10:58 AM
Bankruptcy Attorney serving Henderson, NV
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Jeffrey A. Cogan Chartered, a PLLC
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You will have to sue your neighbors and have a "John Doe" defendant. You will then ask your neighbor who was at the party and they have to give you an answer
Answered on May 21st, 2013 at 10:57 AM
James Eugene Hasser
You've got to prove who hit your car, which it doesn't look like you can do without a lot of effort. The simpler route would be to make a collision claim with your insurance company and let them worry about getting their money back.
Answered on May 21st, 2013 at 10:57 AM
Airplane Crash Litigation Attorney serving Towson, MD
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You could file suit and as part of the discovery process find out who was at the party, their cars, if there was any damage to these cars, etc. Assuming that you have insurance on your car you will have uninsured motorist coverage that will pay for the damage, less your deductible. Have you called the police to ask them to question the neighbor? There was a crash and they should investigate it.
Answered on May 21st, 2013 at 10:56 AM
Bankruptcy Attorney serving Livingston, NJ
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Law Office of Stuart M. Nachbar, P.C.
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You could, but what you would do, is name the neighbor and then put in John Doe and Jane Doe 1-25 which represent the unknown persons. You put in your complaint a John/Jane Doe Count, wherein you plead what you know but admit that you do not know the identity. Then during discovery demand, demand the guest list as well as make and model of all cars driven by those persons.
Answered on May 21st, 2013 at 10:56 AM
John Hone
Your own collision policy should take care of the damages. File a claim against the neighbor in small claims court to pay your deductible, under what is called the Mini-tort provision of our No-Fault system. It caps out at $1,000.
Answered on May 21st, 2013 at 10:55 AM
Criminal Defense Attorney serving Anderson, SC
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The David F. Stoddard Law Firm
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Possibly. However, you would have to prove the neighbor served alcohol to someone who had already had too much to drink and let the person drive despite this. You might also file a John Doe suit against the unknown driver and subpoena the neighbor to a deposition and ask him under oath who was at the party. However, you might end up running up more legal costs that the damage to the car.
Answered on May 21st, 2013 at 10:54 AM