Can I change the amount of a bill if I have to sue?

[working-poor]

North Carolina
On Feb 18th, our new neighbor was shooting his guns with some friends in his backyard. A perfectly legal act where I'm from. They got out of hand, and one of their rounds went through our patio slider, shattering it, and through our dining room wall and into a bedroom. Long story short, the sheriff was called, he apologized, and we opted not to press charges. The sheriff did inform me that they (neighbors) would be paying for the repairs, and to submit a copy of the bill to the sheriff dept, and the neighbor, which I did on March 4th. In my bill, I was kind enough to only charge for what we put out of pocket for materials, as I put the door in myself, and patched and painted the walls myself. I haven't heard back from the neighbor on when to expect payment, so I am preparing a letter to send to him certified mail. My question is, if he continues to ignore this matter and it goes to court, can I add in a reasonable cost for my time and labor, or am I bound to the amount of the original bill?

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Yes you can but don't do so by changing the amount on bills that you have copies of.

 

[not2cleverRed]

No. You may only be reimbursed for actual costs.

You can also request court costs, if it goes to court.

 

[Just Blue]

North Carolina
On Feb 18th, our new neighbor was shooting his guns with some friends in his backyard. A perfectly legal act where I'm from. They got out of hand, and one of their rounds went through our patio slider, shattering it, and through our dining room wall and into a bedroom. Long story short, the sheriff was called, he apologized, and we opted not to press charges. The sheriff did inform me that they (neighbors) would be paying for the repairs, and to submit a copy of the bill to the sheriff dept, and the neighbor, which I did on March 4th. In my bill, I was kind enough to only charge for what we put out of pocket for materials, as I put the door in myself, and patched and painted the walls myself. I haven't heard back from the neighbor on when to expect payment, so I am preparing a letter to send to him certified mail. My question is, if he continues to ignore this matter and it goes to court, can I add in a reasonable cost for my time and labor, or am I bound to the amount of the original bill?

It may of, sadly, been a legal act...but in a perfect world it wouldn't be allowed if the backyard was small enough to endanger others. As your family was endangered. God was looking out for you and yours that day.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

I think he meant the shooting of the gun where it was shot was legal. Shooting into someone's home clearly isn't.

 

[working-poor]

No. You may only be reimbursed for actual costs.

My argument to that would be, if I hired a contractor to do the work and he charged me $300 for labor, that would be an actual cost, so why wouldn't my labor be an actual cost as well?

 

[working-poor]

God was looking out for you and yours that day.

You have no idea how right you are. I was working in my backyard the whole time. Felt like I was in Afghanistan. That round very easily could have went through me on it's way to my house...

 

[Just Blue]

I think he meant the shooting of the gun where it was shot was legal. Shooting into someone's home clearly isn't.

I am aware of what he meant. Shooting a gun in a small enough "backyard" that the bullets can cause such mayhem in a neighbors home "should" be against the law. Sadly in NC it is not. Far from perfect.

Thank GOD I live in Massachusetts.

 

[Just Blue]

You have no idea how right you are. I was working in my backyard the whole time. Felt like I was in Afghanistan. That round very easily could have went through me on it's way to my house...

Just gonna point out that there are a few places, not many, that you can live without the "perfectly legal" discharge of firearms in you neighborhood.

 

[quincy]

North Carolina
On Feb 18th, our new neighbor was shooting his guns with some friends in his backyard. A perfectly legal act where I'm from. They got out of hand, and one of their rounds went through our patio slider, shattering it, and through our dining room wall and into a bedroom. Long story short, the sheriff was called, he apologized, and we opted not to press charges. The sheriff did inform me that they (neighbors) would be paying for the repairs, and to submit a copy of the bill to the sheriff dept, and the neighbor, which I did on March 4th. In my bill, I was kind enough to only charge for what we put out of pocket for materials, as I put the door in myself, and patched and painted the walls myself. I haven't heard back from the neighbor on when to expect payment, so I am preparing a letter to send to him certified mail. My question is, if he continues to ignore this matter and it goes to court, can I add in a reasonable cost for my time and labor, or am I bound to the amount of the original bill?

Have you called the sheriff department to ask about the bill and your neighbor's failure to pay?

If the neighbor refuses to pay the amount you were willing to settle for, you then can sue him for your actual costs. Your time is not compensable.

 

[working-poor]

Have you called the sheriff department to ask about the bill and your neighbor's failure to pay?

No, it just seemed to me it would be between me and the neighbor and the court at this point.

 

[working-poor]

Just gonna point out that there are a few places, not many, that you can live without the "perfectly legal" discharge of firearms in you neighborhood.

I have no problem with guns and neighbors shooting them on their property as long as it's done responsibly. I should mention where I live is very rural, and even though my neighbors property and mine adjoin, there is a good 1000 yards of dense forest separating my home and his target area. That should tell you just how reckless they were being. I shoot my guns too, and have plenty of room on my property to do so, but I go to a range, just because I don't want to worry about an errant round.

 

[Just Blue]

I have no problem with guns and neighbors shooting them on their property as long as it's done responsibly. I should mention where I live is very rural, and even though my neighbors property and mine adjoin, there is a good 1000 yards of dense forest separating my home and his target area. That should tell you just how reckless they were being. I shoot my guns too, and have plenty of room on my property to do so, but I go to a range, just because I don't want to worry about an errant round.

I guess you are a responsible gun owner and your neighbor is not.

 

[Taxing Matters]

My argument to that would be, if I hired a contractor to do the work and he charged me $300 for labor, that would be an actual cost, so why wouldn't my labor be an actual cost as well?

You cannot successfully sue for losses you did not incur. You elected to install it yourself, and thus incurred no labor costs. You therefore will not win a judgment for the cost of labor that you might have had to pay but didn’t. You had the choice to pay a contractor to do it and bill the neighbor for that cost. Having made the choice to install it yourself, however, you are stuck with only recovering the materials you had to pay for.

 

[quincy]

You cannot successfully sue for losses you did not incur. You elected to install it yourself, and thus incurred no labor costs. You therefore will not win a judgment for the cost of labor that you might have had to pay but didn’t. You had the choice to pay a contractor to do it and bill the neighbor for that cost. Having made the choice to install it yourself, however, you are stuck with only recovering the materials you had to pay for.

... which, seeing as how he might find it difficult to collect on any judgment awarded him anyway, was probably a smart choice.