alivenkikn said:
He took this case and then a month later,and I told him everything from the gate,never withheld info,now he tells me nothing is in it for him.Alls I really want tjo know is that if this guy was cited for running the light,then isn't he liable for the damage?I understand this is an educational forum.I suppose I should try to get another laywere.
Is this the answer?"I am always liable?"Or is this a somebody?
My response:
In 1996, the voters of the State of California voted in favor of, and passed, Proposition 213 (*). That means, because you were uninsured, you are NOT entitled to any damages for "pain and suffering." This is your "punishment" for driving without insurance in the State of California. You are entitled, however, to your "actual out of pocket" damages - - vehicle damages, and your medical damages, and "loss of wages", if you did, in fact, lose wages.
Yes, you are entitled to your "actual damages." However, your attorney is telling you that once your vehicle damages and medical damages are paid, there's "nothing in it for him" since you'll need all of the money for car repairs and paying your doctors. So, in effect, you're asking your attorney to do all this work to get your property damage money and your medical bills paid for NOTHING. Sorry, but attorneys need to be paid if they do work for you. That's why your attorney is "cutting you loose." There's no money in it for him.
Because you were uninsured, and because there's "no money in it" for another attorney, I rather doubt you'll be able to obtain the assistance of another attorney. Your best bet, and quite frankly, your only "bet", is to file a Small Claims complaint against the other driver.
Yes, I am a "somebody." This is not a recording, and I am not a robot.
IAAL
(*) In the general election of November 5, 1996, the voters approved Proposition 213, entitled "The Personal Responsibility Act of 1996." (Prop. 213, § 1, Deering's Ann. Civ. Code, foll. § 3333.3 (1998 pocket supp.) p. 60 (hereafter Prop. 213).) The initiative created Civil Code section 3333.4,1 which makes damages for "non-economic losses" unrecoverable by "a person" in any action "arising out of the operation or use of a motor vehicle" when the owner or driver of the vehicle was uninsured. (Civ. Code, § 3333.4, subds. (a), (a)(1) & (a)(2).) Such noneconomic losses include "pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, disfigurement, and other nonpecuniary damages." (Civ. Code, § 3333.4, subd.(a).)
The voters approved Proposition 213 for two reasons. First, the electorate wanted to "restore[e] balance to our justice system." (Yoshioka v. Superior Court (1997) 58 Cal.App.4th 972, 983.) The initiative achieves this by withholding noneconomic damages when motorists "fail to take essential personal responsibility" by purchasing automobile insurance. (Prop. 213, §§ 2(b) & (c), supra.) "[T]he interest in restoring balance to our justice system includes such interests in decreasing the number of law suits" and "reducing annual court-related costs to state and local governments." (Yoshioka v. Superior Court, supra, 58 Cal.App.4th at p. 983.)
Second, the voters wanted to "reduc[e] costs of mandatory automobile insurance addresses the need to reduce skyrocketing insurance premiums by encouraging motorists to buy liability insurance. In the wake of an insurance premium crisis, the electorate's interests in controlling the high costs of insurance are significant." (Id. at pp. 983-984.)
Proposition 213 passed by an overwhelming majority of 76.83 percent. (Id. at p. 978.) The initiative applies retroactively "to all actions in which the initial trial has not commenced prior to January 1, 1997," (Prop. 213, § 4, supra.) Constitutional challenges to proposition 213 have been rejected in Yoshioka v. Superior Court, supra, 58 Cal.App.4th 972 [upholding the initiative's prospective and retroactive application] and Quackenbush v. Superior Court (1997) 60 Cal.App.4th 454, petition for review filed February 2, 1998 [upholding prospective application without addressing the retroactivity issue].
