do i have a chance

[cmpicker]

What is the name of your state? tennessee

last summer my wife and i bought 2 personal water craft. we shared the use of these craft with my daughter and son-in-law, who since have become seperated (not divorced, yet).
before using the craft, my wife and i set 2 rules, 1. no one under the age of 21 will pilot either craft, and 2. if it breaks when you have it, you will fix it. they agreed these rules.
towards the end of the boating season, last summer, by daughter and son-in-law took 2 teenage church members with them to our local lake. my son-in-law allowed one of these teenagers to pilot one of the craft, against my daughters protests. my son-in-law stated "when i have the sea-doo's, i will do what i want with them". This teenager sucked some seaweed into the motor, it overheated, i recently found out the incident caused $357.88 damage to the craft. My question is, since our agreements were both verbal, can I hope to win judgement, against my son-in-law (not to have my daughter included in judgment) in small claims court

 

[suzeeh]

Take him to court

Why not take him to Small Claims Court. Bring your supporting documentation. Have you daughter come to court as a witness. IF there are other people who knew of the verbal agreement you had, bring them as witnesses or ask them to provide a written affidavit although being there is more effective.
You might first try writing him a letter (send it certified mail, return receipt requested) asking him for one last resolution at a certain price to be paid by a certain date. If he doesn't respond by then, then file. Having the letter also shows the judge that you made an attempt to work it out fairly first.

I'm sure due to the family relationship there is a lot of animosity, so trust me you have to be calm and cool. No verbal fights, hateful letters and encounters. Just be to the point and unemotional but firm on what you expect.
Good luck!

 

[cmpicker]

the certified letter was sent a month ago. I was told, through my daughter, that he would pay half when his income taxes came. I would not have accepted half, but his tax return came 2 weeks ago, and i haven't heard from him.

 

[JETX]

"My question is, since our agreements were both verbal, can I hope to win judgement, against my son-in-law (not to have my daughter included in judgment) in small claims court"
*** Certainly you can hope to win, but you have some other issues also:
1) The basis of your claim is that you had an agreement with the BORROWERS (and that includes your daughter!). So, if you were to file a claim, you would have to include her, since she had equal responsibility (and was a party to the agreement).
2) An obvious weak point is that this 'agreement' was verbal. That makes it much harder for you to even prove that an agreement existed, much less what it might have been.
3) Also, you would have to show that the borrowers were negligent in their handling of the property, and that this negligence caused the damage.

Only you can determine the answers to these problems.... and whether you want to pursue this.