Dont know who to sue?

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


So I own a 1970 Cutlass that I keep parked outside at a local storage facility I pay $25 per month. Well last January I drove to the storage site to check up on my car and my whole front end of the car was smashed down. The next day I went in and asked the guy that manages/owns the site what happened and he said he had rented a moving truck to an older woman and her and her nephew came to pick up the truck(her nephew drove) and they ran my front end over along wit hitting his fence. At that time he said he was going to take her to court and sue for the damages to my car his truck and the fence. I believe he went to court in about june or july. This guy NEVER calls me to let me know whats goin on I always have to call him but anyways he did go to court in june or july and told me the judge said he cant sue for my car because he does not own it although he did win the case for damages to the truck and fence. Last I talked to him he said he was seeing if the company that insures the property will cover my car then said he gave them my number to contact me which makes no sense to me i dont own or manage the property so i have decided to take things in my own hands and go to small claims court as it has been 9 10 months since this was done to my car. He has provided me with photos of the damage she did her rental contract to the truck along with her number and address and the court paperwork from when he sued her. My question is should I sue the woman who rented the truck and had her nephew drive and damage my property with the storage facilies truck or should i sue the storage facility itself?

Obviously the lady and her nephew who damaged your car.

The storage unit did not damage your car, and I'm sure your contract clearly states they are not responsible for damages to your property.

Seriously now...

You would sue the person who caused the damage. Don't wait for anyone else to do your work for you.

Keep in mind though...the value of your vehicle (pre-damage) was probably very low. If it was worth any decent money, you wouldn't have had it sitting outside exposed to the elements. You will NOT get any more than the actual value of your car. And, the storage facility is NOT liable for this.

see thats one thing ive been thinking of i understand typical storage places make u sign a contract stating they are not responsible heck i signed one with a previous storage place but with this present one i really do not recall signing something like that and ive always thought it was odd i avnt asked for a copy of my contract yet because i wasnt sure if i would be sueing them or not and the other reason i was unsure is because my car was damaged with the company property not somebody elses property so i dont know. and yes the vehicle holds a little value i was just tight on money at the time and thats all i could afford but i feel regardless of my cars value they should have to pay cost to put it back in the condition it was before they hit it that only sounds fair to me and i am getting an estimate from a shop which im sure will be 5 or 6 grand and im showin that to the judge.

maibatsu said:

see thats one thing ive been thinking of i understand typical storage places make u sign a contract stating they are not responsible heck i signed one with a previous storage place but with this present one i really do not recall signing something like that and ive always thought it was odd i avnt asked for a copy of my contract yet because i wasnt sure if i would be sueing them or not and the other reason i was unsure is because my car was damaged with the company property not somebody elses property so i dont know. and yes the vehicle holds a little value i was just tight on money at the time and thats all i could afford but i feel regardless of my cars value they should have to pay cost to put it back in the condition it was before they hit it that only sounds fair to me and i am getting an estimate from a shop which im sure will be 5 or 6 grand and im showin that to the judge.

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If that is more then what the car is worth you wont get it.

You should be thinking along the lines of 1000. and that might be alot. I dont know, I am not a claim ajuster, or current car value expert.

maibatsu said:

...but i feel regardless of my cars value they should have to pay cost to put it back in the condition it was before they hit it that only sounds fair to me and i am getting an estimate from a shop which im sure will be 5 or 6 grand and im showin that to the judge.

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As was pointed out, that is not how it works. You are entitled to be "made whole". So, if your car was worth $1,000 (which I seriously doubt), then you are entitled to repairs *up to* $1,000. Not MORE. That's what word "totaled" means.

As for the contract question - it doesn't matter. The storage facility is STILL not liable.

Sue for your damages, up to the maximum value of the vehicle. Of course, you're going to need a reliable appraisal of the vehicle's value prior to and after the accident...