Can my aunt take me to court.
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Can my aunt take me to court.
I totaled my aunts car. She is now asking me to replace her car or gie her the
amount the car was valued at. She received this amount from her insurance and I
was covered under her insurance. Do i owe her the same amount her insurance
settled with?
Asked on February 24, 2016 under Accident Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
She can only get, if you totalled the car, the total or sum of the then-current fair market value of the car plus any direct out-of-pocket costs, like towing and car rental (renting a car while buying a new one). She has no right to a replacement car.
Say that, to keep it simple, she had a car worth $8,000 with a $1,000 deductible on her insurance and had no out-of-pocket costs. She received $7,000. If you were at fault (e.g. driving carelessly or negligently) in damaging her car, you would be liable for the extra $1,000--the money she did not get due to her deductible. If you don't pay it, she could sue you for it. But again, that'd be all she can get: she can't get you to pay any amounts she already received from insurance, and is entitled to this car's then current value, not the price of a new car.
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