unlicensed & uninsured

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

My son loaned his 1993 car, insured only with liabilty, to an unlicensed uninsured driver. The driver hit a telephone pole and the car was totaled. No injuries to the driver but we are now out of a car. Is there any way I can recoup monies needed to purchase another car from this driver?

Rblama said:

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

My son loaned his 1993 car, insured only with liabilty, to an unlicensed uninsured driver. The driver hit a telephone pole and the car was totaled. No injuries to the driver but we are now out of a car. Is there any way I can recoup monies needed to purchase another car from this driver?

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Your son can sue in small claims court. He will need to prove the amount of damage, and that the driver is liable for those damages. You can expect the award to be reduced by whatever percentage of liability the court assigns to your son for allowing an unlicensed operator to drive his car.

The driver was insured because the car was insured and he was driving it with permission. The licensing issue is separate of course. But if the telephone pole was damaged, for example, your son's insurance would cover it.

Now because this was an old car that's not worth very much, he's not going to be able to recover the repair cost, since that will exceed the value of the car. And he won't be able to recover the cost of a new car. He is entitled to the value of his old car, in the condition it was in immediately prior to the accident. He can run a value report from NADA to get something resembling a reasonable value.

The car was only insured for liability and not collision. There was no damage to the telephone pole. My son was not aware that the borrower did not have a license nor did she offer this information. Although he is the driver the car is registered to me and was used without MY permission.
Because of the year of the car and the damage it suffered, airbag deployed & drivers front tire was bent beyond it's turning point - not drive-able, we removed it from our insurance and left it to the auto body shop that towed the car. It would have cost more to repair the car than what it was insured for.
I will search the value of the car prior to damages and also find out what repair costs would be. Can I assume this would all be handled through small claims court?

Yes, small claims court is the best way to go.

If your son is the primary driver of the car, or even if he just had permission to drive it, then he is allowed to give permission to someone else. YOUR permission was not required. She did not, in other words, steal the car. She had a reasonable belief that she was driving it with permission.

When you come up with a reasonable value for the car, I would suggest you send a demand letter asking her to compensate you for the value of the vehicle before you go file a claim with the court.
I would also include the proof of it's value or how you arrived at it anyway.

Give her the chance to pay you first. It's doubtful that she will actually pay you, but you never know. If she agrees that she is responsible for the loss of the vehicle, see if you can come to an agreement on the amount of the loss and if she is willing to make payments. If so, draw up a contract with all the terms you agree to. Total amount, monthly payment amount, any late fees/interest and what date the debt should be paid off by. Get her to sign and date the agreement.

If she doesn't meet the terms of your agreement, then you can go to small claims and armed with the police report, signed note and the amount of money already paid, it will clearly show that she is responsible and has taken responsibility for the loss of the vehicle, making the judge's job easy and the case will be a fast one.

If she refuses to pay you anything then you can file the case against her. You might mention to her that if you have to go through the courts, she will have additional costs and the civil judgment can hurt her credit and have her looking irresponsible on background checks.

You should be willing to accept reasonable payments from her as the court Will find that monthly payments are acceptable should you prevail. So either way, I wouldn't be expecting one lump sum unless she has access to some deep pockets.

If you sue her in small claims don't be surprised if she counter sues you. This is pretty common, as many people believe a weak offense is a good defense.

Need I say more?

Rblama said:

... My son ...he is the driver the car is registered to me and was used without MY permission.
...?

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10 characters

It would be nice if you said something actually meaningful. But since I have yet to see you post anything meaningful, I won't hold my breath.