[jhuber]

So parked my car on the street for one night while doing a project in the garage and teenager backed into it. She was house sitting our neighbors house and was the only one backing out of the driveway. She refuses to admit she hit our car even with matching damage.

Has anyone had any luck with small claims court? The police refuse to place blame since they weren't there and it's here say apparently even with both vehicles present and him saying I'm pretty sure she did it. Dent matches hers and is same height as her bumper. To me that white line clearly matches the line of where my bumper attaches but that might just be me seeing what i want to see.

What do you guys think take it to court and risk paying court fees and deductible if I loose or just suck it up and pay deductible without pressing charges? Of course have her license plate and got officers to add her to police report they just couldn't assign blame.

[n00bim2015]

i guess you can take her to small claims court, probably scare the hell out of her.. unless she has family members who's a lawyer.

[n00bim2015]

if you really want to get her, get CSI to scrape the paint off and check to see if it matches her car color.

[HKColter]

If you have the time and all the evidence, go for it unless court fees in your area are high.

[jhuber]

Yea we are leaning towards taking it to court. Really the attitude of the girl who did it is what is causing me to want to press it further. The deductible is being reduced to 100 bucks by my insurance company for having no claims in over 10 years and the hit and run, so not a huge deal. She is just a snotty 17 year old that thinks she can get away with anything so we will see. The insurance company is also getting involved with the police and her insurance company so hopefully they can take care of most of the dirty work. Likely will pay more than 100 in court fees though so.. not sure

[jgoens]

That sucks. If your insurance does not sort it out you could always give her an offer/threat to pay your 100$ deductible or you will take her to court which you can say will probably result in her having to pay a lot more in costs and/or higher insurance rates. You might want to find out what it costs to submit a claim..typically an attorney is not used in Small claims..but, I understand principle is a big thing here as well.

[mbfanos]

Originally Posted by jhuber

Yea we are leaning towards taking it to court. Really the attitude of the girl who did it is what is causing me to want to press it further. The deductible is being reduced to 100 bucks by my insurance company for having no claims in over 10 years and the hit and run, so not a huge deal. She is just a snotty 17 year old that thinks she can get away with anything so we will see. The insurance company is also getting involved with the police and her insurance company so hopefully they can take care of most of the dirty work. Likely will pay more than 100 in court fees though so.. not sure

This is your opinion about her. But if it is true, then if I were you, I would take this to court

[eluded]

If you sue her you must prove her guilt. She has not admitted to you nor the police officer who took the report that she hit your car. For all you know she will deny everything in court even if it's perjury because nobody can prove it. Or can they ? I don't know how you get around this one. I guess you could sue her in real court and try to get a court order to access her car and get a paint sample off of it. That will be next to impossible. However, there might be paint fragments on your car that you could have tested and prove what type of paint it was and match it to her type paint used on her car. Such as, you found BMW mineral White paint all over your car that matches the type that done on her car.

Something to think about. I think I would go that route. I would analyze your car determine if her paint color was found on it. Once you have that evidence I would go to town. I would sue her in real Court, where she's on the hook for all of the fees including your lawyers, lost wages, paint analysis, all associated court fees, emotional distress from damaging your car. Blah blah blah.

Good luck.

[Junkman2008]

The cost to take someone to small claims court is cheap. It's a one time cost and the defendant isn't charged anything unless they lose. That's how it works in California and Kentucky, the two places where I have used small claims court.

[Rick4345]

Take pictures of your damaged area and her car where it impacted yours. Bring them with you. I see you did that. Also get close ups of the paint transfers.

[jd_perspective]

you should file a claim with your insurance and give her license plate number and everything. obviously you filed a police report. if not do it.

[IndotagSwizz]

having been involved in a couple of unlucky incidents when I was younger I can easily tell you: you are wasting your time. While you think you have proof and might be convinced it had to be her, you simply don't have any real proof nor witnesses....can you still win in court??? yes, but unfortunately you will have to hire investigators and plenty of experts that will prove you right in front of a judge....this will cost you more than the damage. Without these experts don't even waste your time, its just your opinion to a judge, just like her side of the story, and since the judge also is not an expert on paint nor car damage he will not be able to side with you unless you had video or witness evidence. Sorry man this sucks I feel your pain because its just so unfair to have to eat it, clearly its not your fault. Good luck!

[slaaw]

Unless, you have a witness that puts her behind the wheel who saw her running into your car, you are facing a steep uphill battle. And it sounds like you don't have any witnesses. You can try small claims using the circumstantial evidence you described, but it just comes down to your word against hers. From a practical standpoint, you're better off just paying the deductible as it saves you time and stress. Have you checked if any houses nearby have video surveillance footage?

[jhuber]

Thanks guys, ended up just paying the deductible and getting it fixed, looks like it never happened. My insurance company is going to attempt to go after her through her insurance but I imagine it's a lost cause

[320DPilot]

This is so annoying! Washed my car 2 weeks ago and discovered a dent in the boot/trunk door. I have no idea who did it or when it was done.