What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CO
Our neighbor has been doing extensive landscaping work on his home and rented a Bobcat bulldozer to move his own dirt around. He has been piling debris (branches, dirt, rocks, small boulders) at the back of his house on the edge of a public alley and from time to time, some has spilled directly into the alley. He also had a couple of dump trucks haul out his "bad" dirt, and a front end loader was used to fill the dump trucks parked in the alley. However, nothing was left in the middle of the alley after the dump trucks had left and the damage occurred about two weeks after the dumps trucks were there. Just wanted to mention that in case neighbor tried to point the finger at them.
My husband was driving down the alley one night and before he could notice it in the dark, ran over a large rock in the middle of the alley, which did extensive damage to his front bumper which had to be replaced. The circumstantial evidence was that the rock was from the neighbor's debris pile as it was right next to it. He is known for throwing stuff into the alley as well like weeds and branches. My husband knocked on the neighbor's door and told him that he hit a rock that was from his landscaping efforts. He showed him the large rock and the neighbor acknowledged that it was his and that he was sorry and that he would pay for the damages. Neighbor even recommended body shop to use, which my husband did. Fast forward to when the bill for the repairs was presented a week or so later, which was $1,200. The large rock is nowhere to be found and rocks in debris pile are noticeably missing. Neighbor now says that it wasn't his rock and other people must have been doing excavating/landscaping work who also live on the alley and he refuses to pay.
What recourse do we have now? We have no pictures. We can't prove it is his rock, even though he admitted it when initially shown the rock and damage. He can certainly now say that he never said that and it would be my husband's word against his since it was only the two of them that had the conversation. Would we have any legal standing in small claims court? And if so, what do we need to do to prove our case and win it since it is he said/he said at this point?
Thank you for any advice.
Our neighbor has been doing extensive landscaping work on his home and rented a Bobcat bulldozer to move his own dirt around. He has been piling debris (branches, dirt, rocks, small boulders) at the back of his house on the edge of a public alley and from time to time, some has spilled directly into the alley. He also had a couple of dump trucks haul out his "bad" dirt, and a front end loader was used to fill the dump trucks parked in the alley. However, nothing was left in the middle of the alley after the dump trucks had left and the damage occurred about two weeks after the dumps trucks were there. Just wanted to mention that in case neighbor tried to point the finger at them.
My husband was driving down the alley one night and before he could notice it in the dark, ran over a large rock in the middle of the alley, which did extensive damage to his front bumper which had to be replaced. The circumstantial evidence was that the rock was from the neighbor's debris pile as it was right next to it. He is known for throwing stuff into the alley as well like weeds and branches. My husband knocked on the neighbor's door and told him that he hit a rock that was from his landscaping efforts. He showed him the large rock and the neighbor acknowledged that it was his and that he was sorry and that he would pay for the damages. Neighbor even recommended body shop to use, which my husband did. Fast forward to when the bill for the repairs was presented a week or so later, which was $1,200. The large rock is nowhere to be found and rocks in debris pile are noticeably missing. Neighbor now says that it wasn't his rock and other people must have been doing excavating/landscaping work who also live on the alley and he refuses to pay.
What recourse do we have now? We have no pictures. We can't prove it is his rock, even though he admitted it when initially shown the rock and damage. He can certainly now say that he never said that and it would be my husband's word against his since it was only the two of them that had the conversation. Would we have any legal standing in small claims court? And if so, what do we need to do to prove our case and win it since it is he said/he said at this point?
Thank you for any advice.