NYC Parking Garage Totaled our Car and says sue us!

[Delawhere?]

Delaware -
Our vehicle was parked in a parking garage in NYCity and the garage attendant backed into it (at between 35-45 mph) with another customers SUV and destroyed/totaled our vehicle. Our insurance covered the vehicle, but at a lower value using the Mitchell Reporting System, not KBB, etc, but not our deductible and other out-of-pocket costs, alternate transportation to get home to Delaware from NYC, loss of vehicle difference in value, extended warranty that was good for another year, etc. In total, we are out of pocket to just under $5,000.00 and could be up to $8,500.00, since our car was paid off (2002 Mercedes Benz) and we were not planning on buying another new car for at least a year to 18 months from now. The garage admitted they made a 'mistake' and fired the employee stating he's had other issues, etc.

Our insurance company is going to subregation to recover the difference in what we were paid for our car, but not to recover our expenses. The garage says they are self-insured to $10,000, but states the car could have been repaired for between $4,200 to $8,800, Our Insurance company adjuster came up to over $14,000+ making it uneconomical, thus totaled. I tried to get the company to agree to pay our out-of-pocket costs, all supported with receipts and letters for the exact costs we've lost ($4680.00), their 'claims manager' said 'you'll have to sue us'.

So, I need to know if we should file suit in the NY or DE courts. It would appear that we can file for the amount of our losses in either state's legal system ($5,000+ in NY and up to $15,000 in DE) I guess I need to know/understand what are the advantages of filing in either state? The company we'd be suing is a New York LLC. Thank you.

 

[ecmst12]

You MUST file in NY since that is where the accident occurred.

You are entitled to your deductible and reasonable out of pocket rental costs. You are NOT entitled to the KBB value of your vehicle, as KBB numbers are not realistic market-based figures by any estimation, nor do they claim to be. The value report run by your insurance company is definitely more accurate. You can ask for a copy if they did not provide one to you. You are also not entitled to anything related to the cost of a new vehicle - the new car you choose to purchase has nothing to do with the accident. Nor are you entitled to anything related to the warrenty.

 

[Delawhere?]

I understand the difference between the Mitchell and KBB values, the question regarding filing doesn't seem clear, since when I read both the NY State court and DE State court web sites, I can file in either one - hence what advantage is there by filing in one vs. the other? According to the Delaware site, I can file against an individual or business regardless of where the accident occurred, since they caused the incident, and I'm a DE resident, I can file in my state's court against them. Please support the reason you state I have to file in NY.

I believe you are incorrect as to the extended warranty being valued in our settlement claim. The garage has deprived us of our car, which had an extended warranty, (and maintenance/service plan, which has a real dollar value assigned to it) - the warranty might be subject to interpretation, but we have a receipt showing the value for it and the expiration wasn't until next year. The service plan covered all scheduled service for the year ahead also, which is about $250+ every 3 months.

In a nutshell, we parked our car in their parking garage and they didn't give our vehicle back just the way we left it. They should make us whole again, thus either provide us with a same vehicle, mileage, features, etc. as we had - they didn't do that, they wanted to fix it without contacting our insurance company - the law is clear, the insured decides who fixes their vehicle and cannot be bullied into using a repair facility that they don't wish to. Also, if they fixed it in NY, should something be wrong, we'd be out further costs by having to travel 2 1/2 hours one-way to have their shop fix it, not to mention the tolls, gas, expense of day(s) off work, lodging, etc. Even they agreed that would be foolish and not responsible.

 

[ecmst12]

Accidents are governed according to the laws in the state where the accident occurred. A DE court can't rule according to NY laws. Therefore you would have to go to a NY court.

I've never had someone ask me for compensation related to an extended warrenty, nor have I ever seen anything stating it should be covered. It's possible you're right, it never hurts to ask. Just don't be surprised if you don't get it.

Your insurance company WILL get its money back, along with your deductible. It may take a while, but the responsible party can't argue that they were not at fault, and they won't win if they try to argue that your car should have been repaired - your insurance company has sufficient documentation that it was a total loss. But if you wait until after they have paid your insurance company, you may find them more receptive to your claims for rental and other costs.

 

[Delawhere?]

Thanks for the advice, I'll file in NY. I spoke with the Police after filing the accident report with them, and the officier mentioned that the NY courts tend to favor and side with the injured party in these types of cases where the claiming party had nothing to do with the accident, etc.

I appreciate the comment about waiting until our insurance company concludes their subrogration process with the defendant - I hope they'll be more willing to settle for a negotiated amount then, but if not, we can always go to smalls claims court in NY. I called our insurance co. and they said they'll attempt to recover as much as possible our out-of-pocket expenses (we gave them the list/amounts for referrence), but admitted that beyond that, we'll likely have to attempt to recover that ourselves.

Is there a time limitation to file in small claims court in this type of case/issue? I'd hate to wait 5-6+ months for the insurance company to settle and find out we lost our opportunity to go after the parking garage.

Again, thanks for the advice, we truly do appreciate your time and advice.

 

[seagoing]

A couple yrs.ago my daughter had a vehicle distroyed while parked .Hit on college campus in Fl. by a drunk driver.Interestingly,the KBB and the NADA was much lower than the vehicle could have been replaced for in various auto buy-sell ads.had we not done our homework,the Ins.company was only willing to give current SO CALLED blue book value from some other book THEY had.After printing actual ads.from the different ads,we agreed to settle on the average price .This was thousands higher than they offered .They wanted to total the car.However ,it was fixed,based on the fact the value was proven to be higher then what they said.There is also a value that is not talked about. name, basically a vehicle that had repair is not as valuable as a vehicle that was never in an accident,thus in some states restitution is to be paid for this diminished value.The internet is a great tool for this research.i orginally come from NY,I have witnessed these parking lot jockeys driving customers cars recklessly many times during my employ for NY telephone.They often park cars with bumpers touching each other to gain room,leaving them to crawl over bumpers etc.One broke my key in the ignition and gave me the broken key.Thought I was wrong for not carrying a spare .Told me i would have to pay overnite parking,then fight for a refund because he neederd to charge what the clock said.good luck.

 

[ecmst12]

SOL in most states is 2 years but I *think* in NY it's 3. Plenty of time either way