Ian Donaldson
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Minnesota
My wife hit two large unmarked potholes while entering a parking lot of a place of business. The resulting damage cost approx. $1100. We've contacted the company that owns the property and submitted pictures of the holes, a statement/receipt from the towing company and a receipt from the auto garage. We were told they were going to send them to their insurance company and that the insurance company would contact us.
Two weeks had passed without contact from neither the insurance nor the company that owns the property so we decide to call them back, and after a few days we receive a call from the property owning company: According to them the insurance company rejected the claim; it was stated that the insurance co feels that the potholes couldn't have caused that much damage and the car was too old to be worth those repairs.
1. the potholes are both huge and deep, one of them being over 2 feet wide and several inches, as much as 6 inches deep
2. the car is a 1999 Chevy Malibu, and was in excellent condition
According to the company, JB Realty Co., they feel bad and are willing to cut us a check for "a couple of hundred dollars". To me this says they recognize their culpability in both neglecting their parking lot and failing to mark the hazardous area. It should also be noted that there were other potholes in the lot that were marked with paint for maintenance; these weren't among those marked.
One thing that I'm suspicious of is if they ever even contacted their insurance company, never mind submitting my evidence to them.
So on to the big question: Do I have a case against them? I told them I would accept $550 if they were willing to settle today (to prevent further delay), otherwise I would be filing a case with the small claims court for the full amount, $1100.
I've been trying to research this matter and I can't for the life of me find any state statutes indicating whether I have a case worth pursuing or not.
My wife hit two large unmarked potholes while entering a parking lot of a place of business. The resulting damage cost approx. $1100. We've contacted the company that owns the property and submitted pictures of the holes, a statement/receipt from the towing company and a receipt from the auto garage. We were told they were going to send them to their insurance company and that the insurance company would contact us.
Two weeks had passed without contact from neither the insurance nor the company that owns the property so we decide to call them back, and after a few days we receive a call from the property owning company: According to them the insurance company rejected the claim; it was stated that the insurance co feels that the potholes couldn't have caused that much damage and the car was too old to be worth those repairs.
1. the potholes are both huge and deep, one of them being over 2 feet wide and several inches, as much as 6 inches deep
2. the car is a 1999 Chevy Malibu, and was in excellent condition
According to the company, JB Realty Co., they feel bad and are willing to cut us a check for "a couple of hundred dollars". To me this says they recognize their culpability in both neglecting their parking lot and failing to mark the hazardous area. It should also be noted that there were other potholes in the lot that were marked with paint for maintenance; these weren't among those marked.
One thing that I'm suspicious of is if they ever even contacted their insurance company, never mind submitting my evidence to them.
So on to the big question: Do I have a case against them? I told them I would accept $550 if they were willing to settle today (to prevent further delay), otherwise I would be filing a case with the small claims court for the full amount, $1100.
I've been trying to research this matter and I can't for the life of me find any state statutes indicating whether I have a case worth pursuing or not.
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