Fence & Teenage Driver

SusieQue40 · #1 08-13-2009, 11:03 AM

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? MO

My teenage driver tried to be nice and pick up her friend for an early morning school trip. Her friend does not have any gravel in her driveway and it was raining heavily. This is in a rural area. Her friend did not meet my driver at the bottom of the driveway as was arranged because she neglected to get up. My teenage driver drove up the hill to the house to try to rouse the family with no luck. As she drove back down the driveway she slid in the mud and hit the friend's fence. She put a hole in the fence and one in her front bumper.

My husband visited the owner and said that if they needed help fixing the fence to call. No call was ever received, so we thought the situation was resolved.

I recently received a message on a social-networking site from the owner asking what we will be doing to fix the problem. I replied that my husband had offered to help fix the fence but did not receive a reply. Their response is that the fence was new (a few months old) woven wire and that it would not look "right" to patch it. She also responded that they did not have the money to fix it correctly. I am sure she is insinuating that we should replace the whole fence.

Are we legally obligated to do so?

JustAPal00 · #2 08-13-2009, 11:17 AM

She can hire someone to fix the fence and bill you for it. She can't replace the whole fence and expect you to pay. It sounds more like they would like the money rather then their fence fixed, in which case I would ask them how much the damages are. If the give you a couple written estimates, I would pay the middle one.

SusieQue40 · #3 08-13-2009, 11:34 AM

My husband is very competent to fix the fence himself. Is that not a viable option? Do we have to have permission from the owner before doing so?

ecmst12 · #4 08-13-2009, 11:37 AM

It is only an option if they allow it. If they would rather have the money, then you need to pay them. You can allow your insurance to handle it if you like, that's what it's there for.

CraigFL · #5 08-13-2009, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SusieQue40

My husband is very competent to fix the fence himself. Is that not a viable option? ...

This is a common misconception. You are liable for repairs BUT the person who was damaged by your action gets to decide on the competancy of the person to fix it. If it were me, I would want a legitimate fence company to repair it.

Labtec600 · #6 08-14-2009, 12:06 AM

You dont have to replace the whole fence, only what you damaged. The fence being brand new would mean what they used to build the fence would still be on the market so they could replace the fence with what they had. If it had been an old fence and they couldnt match...then you may have to pay the whole thing - less depreciation.

Edit - Is the fence part one continous piece or does it break at the posts? If it's one continuous piece....you may have to replace the whole thing.