<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, Verdana">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by sdb15:
I was woke up last May 3rd at 6:00 a.m. by a neighbors boyfriend who hit my parked car. I had just taken this car off of my insurance not even two weeks prior to this accident, as I was to sell it that coming weekend. I have already given estimates to the neighbor, who is helping her boyfriend handle this situation, and have tried to collect the money for damages that he owes me for about one and a half months now. I have had absolutely no communication with the man who hit my car since the day of the accident, as he gave me a cell phone number that always goes to a message machine. I have only requested through his girlfriend for him to contact me A.S.A.P. I finally left him a message the other day indicating to him that I have no other choice, but to handle this through a lawyer. My question is "Do I have a better chance going through a small claims court, or through a private lawyer?" The total of the damages to my vehicle are at $3500.00 . He has a brand new truck with insurance, but refused to give me his policy information, as he said he would pay cash for the damages. I live in los angeles, california. Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
My response:
You're better off filing a lawsuit yourself in Small Claims court. I noticed in your bio that you're in Los Angeles. If this happened in the city itself, you'd file your Claim at the Municipal Court located at 110 No. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012. If, however, it occurred in the San Fernando Valley, you have to file in the Branch courthouse closest to where the incident occurred. Your jurisdictional limit is $5,000.00.
You're going to need the Defendant's address in order to have him served with the Complaint. Your filing fee is $23.00, plus the cost to have the Sheriff serve the defendant with the papers. You cannot serve the papers yourself; however, any person age 18 or over, can serve the papers on Defendant - - I'd use the Sheriff's office though.
Good luck.
IAAL
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