2 Major questions I need answered before I take someone or a few people to court???

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

1. Is that I was in a car accident on July 17th. I plan on going to a small claims court workshop session next wednesday which is the next available. I read that the deadline for to file a small claim is 2 years. I just wanted to make sure that I won't look worse waiting for that people I'm filing against, trying to be nice and give them time to respond to me or even just waiting to go to this workshop next week??? Should I just tell them and then file. Or wait until after the workshop to learn more and then take steps from there. It's only the timeline that I'm worried about. It'll be a month next week from the date of the accident but only a few weeks from when her ins. denied me.

2. The second question I have is that I can't find the girl that hit me. I took down the adress of the owner of the car. but not the driver. I have her name but that's it no phone number. I've gone to the owners house and asked them to give this person my phone number. To call me to see if we can't settle this but I haven't heard from her. And now I have to take the owner's to court aswell. How can I get a hold of this person with just a name and her license number? It seems that she's avoiding me and her parents aren't in a rush to have her talk with me. How can I have her legally served if all I have is a name, no address and have no idea where she works??? I know where the owners live and Ican have them served with no problem but I don't know how to serve the girl that hit me, if all I have is her name and I.D?


If you could please answer these questions I'd greatly appreciate it, thank you.

... It'll be a month next week from the date of the accident but only a few weeks from when her ins. denied me...

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So, you have her insurance information.

... I can't find the girl that hit me. I took down the adress of the owner of the car. but not the driver. I have her name but that's it no phone number ...

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But you didn't get address or phone number. No contact info.

... I don't know how to serve the girl that hit me, if all I have is her name and I.D?...

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AND you have her ID (license #)?

How is it that you have this girl's insurance company info but not her name and address? Why didn't you write down her full name and information from the driver's license? Or did you just let HER write it down for you?

You could feasibly go to the DMV and fill out a request to obtain her address based on the driver's license info. But after the Rebecca Schaefer case, they don't just give that out, they send a request to the license holder asking their permission to release the information. Chances are she won't (why should she, since she's anonymous now?).

Your best bet is to sue the registered owner. THEY allowed the girl to drive the car. They took responsibility when she did. If you go after them and get an award, and they don't like it, they can always sue the girl themselves to recover their loss. No skin off your teeth if they don't want to give up her name. They're just as liable, and probably have bigger pockets to collect your judgment against them from anyway.

thanks, I'm just going to go after the owner's. I'll ask them to tell me where she lives or how I can contact her but outside of that I'll just let them know that she's drug them into it. We had a deal that she would confess and that I wouldn't pursue a police report so that she wouldn't get a point on her record. And now she's hidding (which is my fault). Lesson learned, never trust anybody. But now her parents or uncles are gonna have to pay the cost. If I should win, which I should. thank you

Sue the owners. This will usually shake loose the information on the driver. After you get her information, amend the complaint to include her. DO NOT DISMISS THE OWNERS OF THE CAR FROM THE COMPLAINT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.

CourtClerk said:

Sue the owners. This will usually shake loose the information on the driver. After you get her information, amend the complaint to include her. DO NOT DISMISS THE OWNERS OF THE CAR FROM THE COMPLAINT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.

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CourtClerk said:

Sue the owners.

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Dear Clerk:

Except for the shaking "loose", I fully agree.

However, apart from proving that the driver’s negligence was the sole and proximate cause of the accident and the necessary elements of damages, how would you propose that the claimant is to go about establishing financial liability on the part of the registered owner?

I think the guest has a lot more problems with this tort claim than locating the whereabouts and effecting service of process upon the driver.

Like proving that the driver was operating the vehicle with the “express or implied consent of the owner “ (California Vehicle Code Section 17150).

Might it be that this was an issue upon which the owner’s liability carrier denied coverage under the policy?

Without employing effective pre-trial discovery (which cannot be accomplished in small claims) to establish evidence of the relationship between the owner and driver, the circumstances under which the driver was under the wheel and the presence of the owner’s express or implied consent -

What recourse does the claimant have if the owner is joined, served with process, and yet responds to the complaint by denying that the vehicle was being driven with his or her consent?

Aside from the burden of showing vicarious liability I would be interested in learning how the claimant expects to prove that the driver’s negligence was the sole cause of the accident.

Hopefully the guest does not intend to rely on the results of any traffic citations issued to the other driver, which, as we well know would be hearsay and inadmissible. Nor any testimony from an investigating officer other than the physical evidence observed at the scene or admissions against interest on the part of the other driver.