Small claims or not???

[efrobert]

I was in a small boating accident in july. my boat and another collided as we were both leaving a fuel dock. $600 worth of damage to his boat. $525 to mine. He is claiming its all my fault. Any way he is going to sue me, and he is going to try to sue me for Thousands of dollars. He is going to try to get me to pay his lawers fee's and any thing else he can think of. I live in Rhode Island. My question is can he do this. I was under the assumption that damages under $1500 had to be tried in small claims court.
He is basically trying to intimidate me into not fighting his claim.
Any advise is appreciated.

 

[KPR]

He can only sue you for damages incured to his boat, if he can proove it was your fault. This would be a small claims matter because of the dollar amount. He can't sue for mental anguish or any other liberal garbage. No lawyer in the world would waste his time with something this small. I fhe files in small claims, you can also file a counter suit if you think he was wrong.

 

[JETX]

Q1) "Any way he is going to sue me, and he is going to try to sue me for Thousands of dollars. He is going to try to get me to pay his lawers fee's and any thing else he can think of. I live in Rhode Island. My question is can he do this."
A1) Can he do what??
- Sue you? Of course he can. But he will have to prove his charges.
- Sue for "Thousands of dollars"? Again, of course he can, but will STILL have to prove his claim.
- Get you to pay his lawyers fees? Probably. If he wins in court AND your state allows recovery of fees (depends on the basis of the claim), you could be ordered to pay his fees. But, remember, he first has to PROVE his claim.

Q2) "I was under the assumption that damages under $1500 had to be tried in small claims court."
A2) Nope. The small claims court system is one of choice (and is usually the best/simplest for these small claims). But there is no statutory requirment that they MUST hear this case. The plaintiff can file in ANY appropriate civil trial court.

Some questions that can help if this goes further:
1) What comments (if any) were made at the time of the accident about fault and payment for damages?
2) Did you pay for your own repairs??
3) Did you keep receipts for YOUR damages?

And finally, RIGHT NOW, sit down and write out EVERYTHING that you can remember about the accident. What was said, who did what, etc. It may become VERY important that you document your case now if he is claiming to filing a lawsuit against you.