My parked car was totaled

What is the name of your state? California

“Jane Doe” crashed her vehicle into my parked car, totaling it. Police responded and cited her for speeding and for defective equipment (bald tires).

“Jane” said she had just purchased the vehicle from “Paul Smith”. She reported to police that the vehicle was insured by GMAC, and gave a policy number.

It turns out that the vehicle was still registered to “Paul Smith”, and that the GMAC insurance was still active under “Paul Smith’s” name. Neither GMAC nor the DMV were aware that the vehicle had been sold. Neither party had done anything with any paperwork to report any sale.

A claim was filed with GMAC, which denied the claim, stating that “Jane Doe” and “Paul Smith” had a Bill of Sale, and that “Insurance doesn’t transfer.”

To aggravate matters, I am disabled and relied on my car for frequent medical appointments. I have been without a vehicle for almost two months. In addition, “Jane Doe” is a low-income person with little or no assets.

Who is responsible and what should I do to be compensated?

Jane Smith is responsible. I take it that you do not carry uninsured motorist or collision coverage? Either of those would have fixed your vehicle in this situation. All you can do is sue Jane Smith, and hope that she can cough up some $ to pay you.

Hit Parked Car

That's what I thought. An interesting thing is .. on the back of every CA title, there is an attached form with statements that the sale must be reported within 5 days, and "When this form is properly completed and the information is recorded by DMV, liability for parking and/or traffic violations and civil litigation resulting from operation after the date of sale becomes the responsibility of the subsequent owner."

It goes on to say, "To remove your name from the DMV's records, the new owner must apply for transfer using the endorsed certificate of ownership (title) received from you."

Am I correct in interpreting this to mean that the registered owner (in addition to Jane Doe) is liable as well? Would this be a valid argument in Small Claims court?

And thank you so kindly for responding to my question. I genuinely appreciate your time, consideration and advice. You guys ROCK!

moburkes said:

Jane Smith is responsible. I take it that you do not carry uninsured motorist or collision coverage? Either of those would have fixed your vehicle in this situation. All you can do is sue Jane Smith, and hope that she can cough up some $ to pay you.

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You'll have to wait for a lawyer to respond to your last post.