I may need to take my neighbor to small claims court.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

Just venting:

On Christmas day, I was going to the nursing home to pick mom up and take her to my sisters. I was driving her car and was about 200 ft. from my house. A child was on the road ahead driving his new golf cart. When I got up beside him (on the right) he suddenly turned sharply to the right to make a u-turn and drive back down the street.
He hits my mom's car and damages every panel on the driver's side and both wheel covers. Luckily, he was okay. I had him get his parents. His dad shows up and begs me not to report the accident to the police. His reasons: "He won't be able to get his license until he's 18." "They will confiscate his golf cart; he just got it for Christmas."
"I can pay for it-I'll write you a check!" I wasn't born yesterday. I had already called the cops. He got a little angry with me when I told him it was too late. The cop arrives and tells him that his son (a 10 year old) shouldn't have been on the street. He estimates that the damage would be under $1,000 and told us to handle it privately.
I got an estimate-$1,080. He tried to get his homeowners insurance to pay for it but he got caught lying to the adjuster (he said his son was coming out of the driveway and that the cart belonged to his wife) and they are refusing to pay.
I may have a hard time getting the money out of him. He is a major ass.
I have photos of the damage, the estimate and a copy of the police report. Is there anything else that I may need?
What kind of parent gives their kid a golf cart and lets him drive unsupervised on the street? It seems like he doesn't expect his son to face any consequences for his actions.

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. What state do you live in?

IF Florida, there's no-fault insurance. Which means all you have to do is give the police report and the claim, the estimate to your insurance co. They'll pay you and then they'll subrogate against your neighbor.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

2. NC. This is all new to me! n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Call your insurance company asnd ask them what they suggest.

If your deductible is higher than 1000, then you may be sol with them.

[Floogeldy]

4. Sounds like you got it covered

Just get your testimony down pat, and stick to it. JUST THE FACTS. No speculation or opinion. Describe to the judge what happened as if you were a neutral observer recording the incident.

[Blue Diadem]

5. You might want to

contact your insurance company or your Mom's since it's her car. They should be able to advise you what to do and may even be able to handle the claim against your neighbor.

Those golf carts are annoying and dangerous, especially for a child.
We have elderly that drive them here and either don't stop for stop signs or pull out in front of cars. At this time of the year, we have the snowmobiles riding the neighborhood streets, the 4 wheelers, the gators...and most of them are driven by young teens.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

8. His homeowners and my mom have the same insurance co.

They suggested either pay the $500 deductible or court.

[yardwork]

6. That family is incredibly lucky their child wasn't hurt

Only an idiot would give a child a golf cart anyway. The guy sounds like a terrible neighbor. You have my sympathy. I hope you get your money.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

7. I had trouble with him before.

He bought his kids a puppy. They never bothered training her and she would steal my paper and anything not tied down. I would complain and nothing would be done. Finally, they got rid of the dog instead of taking time to train her. That makes one an ass in my book.
He didn't even seem concerned that his son could have been hurt (that shocked me). He was only worried that he wouldn't get to keep his cart.

[DemBones DemBones]

9. I had to take a guy to small claims court aka jp court once.

And it was a trip! The jp held court in a back room of a lawnmower shop. The guy I sued backed into me in a parking lot of a store -- looked right at me while he backed into me. I got out and demanded to see his license and insurance card. Guess what? No insurance. "I'm out of work right now," he said. I said "Well, you'll just have to come inside with me while I call the police." And he did! This was fairly amazing since I was only 25 or 26 at the time and people often thought I was ten years younger. The guy was probably 30, tops, but rough looking.

He was begging me not to tell the cops about his lack of insurance but when they said they didn't come to accidents on private property, I told them he didn't have insurance and they showed up. The guy said he'd pay but he welshed on that. So I filed suit.

The justice told me by phone not to bother to come to court because the guy wouldn't show up and I'd win by default. . . So he showed up and got the case postponed for a month. Grrr. Stupid judge. Stupid guy.

So then I learned you can subpoena the cops who came to the scene to appear in court -- and if they claim they can't do that, you call the top cop and he'll make sure they show! So I had the cops show up plus I took along my father, a distinguished-looking silver-haired man, who wore a suit and carried a legal pad (his idea.) The justice almost had a coronary! "Is that your lawyer?" she hissed. "This is my father, Mr. _______, " I said. She looked pale. I didn't know that my father was a dead ringer for a local attorney with the same last name!!! The cops told us this after court -- they thought he was the lawyer, too.

Oh, the guy didn't show up the second time so I should have gotten the judgement by default but the jp was so flustered she had us all testify. Me and the cops, that is, not my dad. He just sat quietly and occasionally wrote something on his legal pad! LOL He had a blast impersonating an attorney! (Note that we never said he was an attorney and anyone can own a nice suit and a legal pad!) Some rough characters stood in the next room and watched everything -- that's why I took my dad along, you don't know what kind of friends someone might have. Of course no one messed with me, surrounded by my dad and the police.

After I won my case, the guy still welshed on promises to pay so when he finally went back to work, I had his wages garnisheed. Know why he was out of work? He was having trouble with his eyes!!! Could have been too much :smoke:

[BlackVelvetElvis]

10. Great story!

Sounds like dad had a blast.

[DemBones DemBones]

13. And useful, too, I hope! It was scary to me, being young at

the time, but it just made me mad that this guy had the gall to drive around with no insurance and then not pay me when he dented my car. If he'd given any sign of honoring his promise to pay, I would have been willing to wait for him to get the money.

[Aristus]

11. You got a copy of the police report. Good. Smart lady.

That's the most important item. Go get 'em! :thumbsup:

[LynneSin]

12. Piece of advise for anyone who tries and settle outside of Insurance

I have no problems doing that and I've done it twice in the past and someone was nice enough to allow me to do it.

But before you agree to settle anything outside of insurance claims - get their freaking insurance information anyways. The 2 times I was nice to allow someone to pay for it out of their pocked, I told both parties that I would allow it, but if I don't hear from them in "x" amount of days with arrangements made - I'll go to their insurance.

The one party paid immediately, the 2nd was some kid who slacked off and when I told him I was calling his insurance now, a certified check was sent out that day to me.

You can't mess around with the insurance - I give them a week to take care of the issue, but believe me if you have their insurance information they won't f*ck around