driver not car owner

[mayva]

What is the name of your state?NC
almost 3 years ago my husband was in an accident with someone else's vehicle. he had only a learner's permit. he was charged with a traffic citation for driving without a valid license. now almost 3 years later we recieve a letters stating he is being sued for almost $10,000 and another letter from the DMV stating his license will be suspended unless a resolution has been made or the money paid. do we have to pay this? can he be sued?

 

[stephenk]

How old is your hubby?

1. yes he has to pay if he is at fault;
2. yes he can be sued.

 

[mayva]

husbands age

he is 25 now, 22 at the time of the accident. we just found out today that the vehicle owner had lapsed on his insurance payments resulting in suspension. apparently they are trying to get him to pay half of it but this guy is famous now for being a moron and is currently in bankruptcy. if he doesn't pay are we stuck with the whole thing? and what about uninsured driver coverage? can't the party suing us recieve her money that way?

thank you so much for the help, look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[Tha Truth]

You cant be serious about this, Even if the bankrupt moron did have valid insurance, once they found out that the driver had no valid license, they could have rejected the claim and possibly cancelled his policy. Dont try to find a way out of it. They'll get their judgement. The uninsured driver coverage is probably how she got her claim paid to begin with, It is now up to your husband to reimburse her insurance company.

 

[mayva]

ok smartass, i'm asking YOU because I dunno. and ok then. thanx for the info.

 

[stephenk]

Your hubby and the owner of the car he was driving are equally responsible for the damages caused by your husband's driving.

If the car owner reaches an agreement with the other party or their insurance company for the full amount, then your hubby may only become responsible to the owner after he pays to the insurance company.

The insurance company can come after your hubby and demand the full amount if the car owner has filed bankruptcy and declared the auto accident damages as a debt.

Was your hubby at fault for the accident?

 

[mayva]

hi there. well the "at fault" was under some debate but i do believe in the end he was found responsible. the insurance company has said thay they will attempt to collect half the total amount from the car owner, which is lovely though still worrying because this man will not/cannot pay anything.

here's another odd turn of events. my husband had been trying diligently to contact the insurance people. when he finally did they said they could not talk with him directly - they must speak with his representation (Henson & Fuerst) ????????? we did not ask or solicit any representation.
also - because of not being able to get a hold of anyone, he called the DMV to let them know that he has been trying in vain and to not suspend his lisence. they have no record of anything, nothing pending, zip. so is this letter that came from the DMV a fraud? made by the insurance company? is that legal?
thank you.

 

[teflon_jones]

If you didn't obtain representation with whoever the other insurance company is saying you did, then you didn't. It's pretty simple. They either 1) have an error in their records or 2) have a deal worked out with these lawyers to refer people to them. It wouldn't surprise me if they had an underhanded practice like that. And if you don't have representation, then you should get some.

As for the DMV, did you take the letter you got with you to the DMV? I wouldn't leave until either 1) they can explain where the letter came from or 2) tell you that it definitely wasn't from them. Take the name of the person you talk to, their ID number, and note the date and time of your conversation. You should also have them print out a copy of your DMV record to show that there's nothing on it, and have them stamp it with a date.