Transmission damaged by tower

[Bubba91660]

What is the name of your state? LA
The sheriff's dept. had a tow company tow my '92 GMC Safari Van. I asked the tow truck driver (2) times to remove my drive shaft but he said, "It won't damage the transmission", both times that I asked him to. After towing my van at 55+ mph and over 50 miles, which is against GMC's specification, my transmission lost reverse gear. Now all I have is drive -- in EVERY gear. Do I have an easy to win case in small claims? It will cost 1K ,+ or -, to get it back to working condition.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

What is the name of your state? LA
The sheriff's dept. had a tow company tow my '92 GMC Safari Van. I asked the tow truck driver (2) times to remove my drive shaft but he said, "It won't damage the transmission", both times that I asked him to. After towing my van at 55+ mph and over 50 miles, which is against GMC's specification, my transmission lost reverse gear. Now all I have is drive -- in EVERY gear. Do I have an easy to win case in small claims? It will cost 1K ,+ or -, to get it back to working condition.

My response:

Probably not because the tow driver was working "under color of authority" by the Sheriff's Department. As such, the tow driver is covered by the Governmental Immunity Doctrine.

However, you may as well file a Governmental Claim for Damages, and then wait for it to be rejected. Then, file your small claims action against the tow driver, the company, and the Sheriff's Department for your damages.

IAAL