My response:
1. Parents of an adult child are not responsible for the deeds or misdeeds of such child - - even if the parents are contributing to the maintenance of such child.
2. Since he had no insurance, you may want to take a gamble - - a long shot, if you will - - to pay for and run a Statewide asset search on the tortfeasor. About $150.00 to $300.00, depending upon how detailed and deep you want to search.
However, let me warn you that most attorneys will not take, or keep, such a case in their office because the liklihood of recovery, and thereby being paid, is slim and none.
On the other side of the coin, if you do convince an attorney to take your case, despite the low chances of being paid at time of judgment, a judgment in California is good for up to 20 years. Therefore, there is a slight possibility that a potential judgment could be paid during those ensuing 20 years.
On the downside to that potential, the tortfeasor could, and most probably would, declare Bankruptcy. Beyond your entitlement to Special and General Damages, such a tortfeasor would also be staring at the potential of Punitive Damages due to his DUI causing your accident, thus increasing the liklihood of Bankruptcy.
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs constitutes negligence as a matter of law. This presumption arises under Ev C §669(a) [People v Phillips (1985, 4th Dist) 168 Cal App 3d 642, 214 Cal Rptr 417], because driving while intoxicated is prohibited by Veh C §§23152, 23153. [For discussion of violation of statutory rules of the road as creating a presumption of negligence, see § 25:26]
The act of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated may also constitute an act of malice under CC §3294 sufficient to support the recovery of punitive damages. A willful, conscious disregard for the safety of others constitutes malice within the meaning of the statute. [CC §3294(c)(1)]
In order to justify an award of punitive damages on the basis of a conscious disregard of the safety of others, a plaintiff must establish that the defendant was aware of the probable dangerous consequences of his or her conduct and that the defendant willfully and deliberately failed to avoid those consequences. A person who willfully consumes alcoholic beverages to the point of intoxication, knowing that he or she must subsequently operate a motor vehicle, thereby combining sharply impaired physical and mental faculties with a vehicle capable of great force and speed, reasonably may be held to exhibit a conscious disregard for the safety of others such that he or she may be liable for punitive damages. [Taylor v Superior Court of Los Angeles County (1979) 24 Cal 3d 890, 157 Cal Rptr 693, 598 P2d 854]
In summary, the parents are not liable for an adult child, and even if you were to locate assets, the torfeasor would, in all liklihood, declare Bankruptcy - - making your entire claim, lawsuit and judgment, a mental and emotional roller coaster ride to nowhere.
Good luck to you.
IAAL
[Edited by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE on 04-12-2001 at 04:00 AM]
