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scott_rhino

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?Texas
Alrighty, here we go. Some lady, yacking on her cell phone, pulls out from a stop sign and hits my vehicle on the passenger side rear quarter panel and the boat I am towing on the passenger side front. She was driving an Enterprise rental. I took this to her insurance company and they did an estimate on my vehicle and boat which totalled about $2,600. Then they denied my claim because this lady said I pulled into her lane as I passed, crossing a solid white line. My teenage son was with me, so I have a witness. Basically, I was entering a highway from a feeder road from which there was a side street entering with a stop sign at a "T". So the scenario she described is not plausible or possible. Also, I'm an idiot and did not have insurance at the time, so I don't have an insurnace co. helping me. I'm an even bigger idiot because I procrastinated filing a small claim and Enterprise has filed for the damages to their rental vehicle ($1,800), without even asking me what I thought happened. So, I consulted a lawyer and he said to ask for a hearing and challenge Enterprises right to sue me in small claims by a co. rep., not a lawyer and a couple other technicalities. Then ,based on this ruling, go ahead with my case against the lady driving the other car, combining the two cases in one trial. Well, God, I'm an idiot, because I marked my calender wrong and missed the hearing. The judge moved us straight to trial.
Here are my questions:
Did the judge have to consider the issues I requested the hearing for, or could she just move it to trial? Can I request to reschedule the hearing before the trial?
What information can I get from Enterpirse?
Aren't they responsible for proving my fault?
Can I get a copy of the rental agreement? Would it matter if she paid extra for insurance? ie, could Enterprise sell insurance to their customer and still come after me for damages even though their insurance covered it?
Can I ask for their witness testimony or depose their witness?
The only way I know what the lady driving the car said was that she mentioned to me at the accident scene that she thought I crossed the solid white line. I did not respond and walked away from her at that point. I don't know if they think they have a witness or what. Am I entitled to know what Enterprise is basing their case on before we get to the courtroom?
How do I combine this case with my case against the lady driver? Can there be two seperate trials to resolve this?
Can I countersue Enterprise in any way?
BTW, I have photos of the damage to both vehicles and the boat for all that is worth (We were planning on catching a big fish!).
Do I, can I, take my son with me as a witness to court?
All I was doing was driving down the street, taking my teenage son fishing, and look what a bunch of crap I'm into!!!!!
I'd love to find a lawyer that would slam dunk everyone involved, but, it's not enough money involved to get anybody's interest. So, unless you know how I can get rep from a lawyer under these circumstances, please answer these questions and let me know if there is anything else I can do.
 


JETX

Senior Member
WOW!!! Where to start with all these 'dropped balls'... and screw ups....

scott_rhino said:
Did the judge have to consider the issues I requested the hearing for, or could she just move it to trial?
She can move to trial...

Can I request to reschedule the hearing before the trial?
You can request just about anything.

What information can I get from Enterpirse?
Depends. What are you wanting??
Presumably, you can get a copy of her rental agreement... and a copy of the estimate repair bill.
File a subpoena to get them.

Aren't they responsible for proving my fault?
Yep. So what??

Can I get a copy of the rental agreement?
See above.

Would it matter if she paid extra for insurance? ie, could Enterprise sell insurance to their customer and still come after me for damages even though their insurance covered it?
Yes... and no. Enterprise is likely 'self-insured' for a claim like this. If correct, then they can sue you since they were damaged in having to pay for the repairs that (they claim) you caused.

Can I ask for their witness testimony or depose their witness?
What 'witness testimony'??
And yes, you can depose their 'witness' or any other party involved. However, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure are specific on the process... and you must comply.

The only way I know what the lady driving the car said was that she mentioned to me at the accident scene that she thought I crossed the solid white line. I did not respond and walked away from her at that point. I don't know if they think they have a witness or what. Am I entitled to know what Enterprise is basing their case on before we get to the courtroom?
Yes... and no.
There is no inherent obligation for them to provide you with their information (unlike a criminal trial). However, you have the right to subpoena information and to pre-trial discovery.

How do I combine this case with my case against the lady driver?
Confusing. What is 'your case'?? If you mean your claim against the lady for YOUR damages.... and Enterprises right to sue you..... no.

Can there be two seperate trials to resolve this?
See above.

Can I countersue Enterprise in any way?
No. You have NO claim against Enterprise.

BTW, I have photos of the damage to both vehicles and the boat for all that is worth (We were planning on catching a big fish!).[/qutoe]
Good.

Do I, can I, take my son with me as a witness to court?
Yes... and yes. However, his testimony will likely be viewed as biased. It would be best if you have a completely independent witness.

All I was doing was driving down the street, taking my teenage son fishing, and look what a bunch of crap I'm into!!!!![/qutoe]
Not true. Your post says that this was FAR more than just driving down the street. There appear to be issues of stop signs, merging traffic, freeways, etc. that will seriously impact the process.

Take pictures (preferable video) of the streets, signs, etc. and try to explain your version of what happened.

The damage on BOTH cars should tell a lot about this. Simply, if her car was damaged on the FRONT, as would be if she ran the stop sign on the intersecting street and hit you in the side, then you have a good to decent chance of success.
However, if the damage to her car is scraped down the side, it would support her version that you 'dragged' along beside her when you changed lanes into her.
 

scott_rhino

Junior Member
A couple more questions...

WOW!!! Where to start with all these 'dropped balls'... and screw ups....

Come on, man, give me break!!!! Seriously, thanks for the input. Why do you sound so much like my father? :D Uh oh, another issue entirely :)

Quote:
Originally Posted by scott_rhinoDid the judge have to consider the issues I requested the hearing for, or could she just move it to trial?
She can move to trial...

Gotcha…

Quote:
Can I request to reschedule the hearing before the trial?
You can request just about anything.

Alrighty then…

Quote:
What information can I get from Enterpirse?
Depends. What are you wanting??
Presumably, you can get a copy of her rental agreement... and a copy of the estimate repair bill.
File a subpoena to get them.

I have a copy of the repair bill. I’m not seeing any reason to get the rental agreement based on what you said below.

Quote:
Aren't they responsible for proving my fault?
Yep. So what??

I guess my point is that it would be nice to have an idea of how they are planning on proving my fault.

Quote:
Can I get a copy of the rental agreement?
See above.
Quote:
Would it matter if she paid extra for insurance? ie, could Enterprise sell insurance to their customer and still come after me for damages even though their insurance covered it?
Yes... and no. Enterprise is likely 'self-insured' for a claim like this. If correct, then they can sue you since they were damaged in having to pay for the repairs that (they claim) you caused.

Gotcha…

Quote:
Can I ask for their witness testimony or depose their witness?
What 'witness testimony'??

I’m assuming that Enterprise is either bringing the driver of the other car or they have a deposition. Can I get a copy of a deposition if they plan to use one? How do I find out how they intend to prove my fault, or, will I just find out in court. I’m guessing that they don’t have claim without a witness….

And yes, you can depose their 'witness' or any other party involved. However, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure are specific on the process... and you must comply.

Quote:
The only way I know what the lady driving the car said was that she mentioned to me at the accident scene that she thought I crossed the solid white line. I did not respond and walked away from her at that point. I don't know if they think they have a witness or what. Am I entitled to know what Enterprise is basing their case on before we get to the courtroom?
Yes... and no.
There is no inherent obligation for them to provide you with their information (unlike a criminal trial). However, you have the right to subpoena information and to pre-trial discovery.

So how do I subpoena this info or ask for pre-trial discovery?

Quote:
How do I combine this case with my case against the lady driver?
Confusing. What is 'your case'??

OK, claim….

If you mean your claim against the lady for YOUR damages.... and Enterprises right to sue you..... no.

So the answer is that there will be two small claims cases to resolve this matter? One to resolve Enterprises claim and one for mine against the driver?

Quote:
Can there be two seperate trials to resolve this?
See above.
Quote:
Can I countersue Enterprise in any way?
No. You have NO claim against Enterprise.

Gotcha..didn’t think so.

Quote:
BTW, I have photos of the damage to both vehicles and the boat for all that is worth (We were planning on catching a big fish!).[/qutoe]Good.
Do I, can I, take my son with me as a witness to court?
Yes... and yes. However, his testimony will likely be viewed as biased. It would be best if you have a completely independent witness.

There are none that I know of…
All I was doing was driving down the street, taking my teenage son fishing, and look what a bunch of crap I'm into!!!!![/qutoe]
Not true.

OK, lets try this again….This wasn’t any different than you driving by someone that was at a stop sign on a perpendicular street. Then, much to your surprise, as you drive past them they pull out and hit you. It’s not any more complicated than that. I was driving straight down the road, wasn’t changing lanes, and when I passed her at the stop sign she pulled out and hit me. But I will take your advice to take pictures and/or film the intersection.

Your post says that this was FAR more than just driving down the street. There appear to be issues of stop signs, merging traffic, freeways, etc. that will seriously impact the process.

Take pictures (preferable video) of the streets, signs, etc. and try to explain your version of what happened.

The damage on BOTH cars should tell a lot about this. Simply, if her car was damaged on the FRONT, as would be if she ran the stop sign on the intersecting street and hit you in the side, then you have a good to decent chance of success.

I’m not concerned about my success, I’m concerned about Enterprise’s success. I can’t imagine what they have come up with to prove my fault unless somebody is fibbing.

However, if the damage to her car is scraped down the side, it would support her version that you 'dragged' along beside her when you changed lanes into her.

Very good then, because the damage is to the front of her vehicle where she t-boned me and to her LF fender where she hit my boat.

Thanks again for your patience with my amateur lawerying!
 

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