AN SUV DROVE INTO MY BUILDING !

[jackscoutgirl]

Jurisdiction

Indiana

I have a signed purchase agreement to buy a small commercial property for $50,000. It is owned by two people that have never met, they inherited it. The property is my sub shop that had an SUV drive through the front of it and critically injured my employee. I had renters insurance for my property. The landlords did not have ANY insurance on the building. The driver of the vehicle's insurance caps off at $10,000 per Indiana law.

The signed contract to purchase for $50,000 is at the title company. The one party/owner is out of state has given his authorization for signature. The other party/owner that lives local is refusing to go to close because they want to now make a claim on the $10,000. They feel they must do this before close. And the son of the owner believes the building should have sold for more than $50,000.



IF the insurance can prove the driver was intentional, there is no money that will be even be given to anyone. If there is money to be had from the insurance company, the most this party would get is $2500 anyway. What legal recourse do I have?? I want to close on this building as I have already had work done on it to reopen.

 

[army judge]

I have a signed purchase agreement to buy a small commercial property for $50,000. It is owned by two people that have never met, they inherited it. The property is my sub shop that had an SUV drive through the front of it and critically injured my employee. I had renters insurance for my property. The landlords did not have ANY insurance on the building. The driver of the vehicle's insurance caps off at $10,000 per Indiana law.

The signed contract to purchase for $50,000 is at the title company. The one party/owner is out of state has given his authorization for signature. The other party/owner that lives local is refusing to go to close because they want to now make a claim on the $10,000. They feel they must do this before close. And the son of the owner believes the building should have sold for more than $50,000.



IF the insurance can prove the driver was intentional, there is no money that will be even be given to anyone. If there is money to be had from the insurance company, the most this party would get is $2500 anyway. What legal recourse do I have?? I want to close on this building as I have already had work done on it to reopen.

Before you do anything, agree to anything, comment further about this see a local attorney.

If I were you, I'd see at least THREE.

The initial consultation is normally offered at no out of pocket cost to you, except your time.

Whatever you do, don't rely on answers about something so important you you and your family, your livelihood.

You might also discuss this with your insurance agent.
What you want to do going forward is make sure you are FULLY insured to protect your assets.

Your state has a crime victims compensation fund.
This is their website.
Does your problem apply?
I can't say.
The crime fund can:

ICJI: Victim Compensation

 

[jackscoutgirl]

Thank you so much !!!
I was and am fully insured. They have no claim to that. I will always be fully insured.
I can't afford three attorneys.
I just wanted to know with a basic contract that is signed by all parties... isn't it hard to get out of?

 

[army judge]

Thank you so much !!!
I was and am fully insured. They have no claim to that. I will always be fully insured.
I can't afford three attorneys.
I just wanted to know with a basic contract that is signed by all parties... isn't it hard to get out of?

The three visits to attorneys wouldn't cost you a dime.
You can ask questions, get answers for about 20-30 minutes.
The initial visit is offered at no charge to prospective clients.
It's a good way to get an understanding of how such a case with your fact pattern might proceed in your county by attorneys who know the local system.

Getting out of a contract is easy.
In many cases, you pay a fee, taking the risk you can make that back and more with a better deal.

Contracts make people feel better than handshakes.
That said, nothing is ever ironclad.

A marriage is a legal contract.

Thousands of those contracts are broken hourly all over this planet.

 

[adjusterjack]

The property is my sub shop that had an SUV drive through the front of it and critically injured my employee. I had renters insurance for my property. The landlords did not have ANY insurance on the building. The driver of the vehicle's insurance caps off at $10,000 per Indiana law.

Your employee's injuries would be covered by workers compensation. I hope you have a workers compensation policy on your business. He/she would also have a personal injury claim against a driver. If the driver only had minimum limits your employee could potentially collect up to $25,000 from the driver's liability coverage. All or part of that may have to go back to the workers compensation insurance company depending on how much his benefits are.

The signed contract to purchase for $50,000 is at the title company. The one party/owner is out of state has given his authorization for signature. The other party/owner that lives local is refusing to go to close because they want to now make a claim on the $10,000.

It's still their building. They'd be entitled to the cost of repairs to the building up to the $10,000 limit even after the close. Do they know that? The amount could change if there was any damage to your business contents. Your insurance would pay for your damage and seek reimbursement from the driver which means that the driver's insurance company might have to pro-rate the $10,000 between the two claims.

the son of the owner believes the building should have sold for more than $50,000.

I don't understand the relevance of that. If the purchase contract has been signed by the buyer and both sellers and submitted to the escrow company, then it's a done deal. Now, it's up to you whether to cancel the purchase because of the damage. Whether you can do that or not depends on whether there is an "out clause" in the contract for casualty loss to the building.

Keep in mind that, if the $10,000 is not enough to repair the damage and you close on a damaged building without any repairs in progress, good luck getting any of the insurance money from the sellers once they collect the insurance and the purchase price.

I suggest you get a contractor and get an estimate for repairs so you have an idea whether you want the building as is or want to negotiate a lower price if you are able to cancel the contract.

IF the insurance can prove the driver was intentional, there is no money that will be even be given to anyone.

That's true. The driver's policy is likely to exclude intentional acts but what is it that gives you reason to raise that issue?

If there is money to be had from the insurance company, the most this party would get is $2500 anyway.

"This party?" Who's that? You? Why would you only get $2500?

What legal recourse do I have??

Now we come to the point where I agree that you should be consulting an attorney.

 

[jackscoutgirl]

The three visits to attorneys wouldn't cost you a dime.
You can ask questions, get answers for about 20-30 minutes.
The initial visit is offered at no charge to prospective clients.
It's a good way to get an understanding of how such a case with your fact pattern might proceed in your county by attorneys who know the local system.

Getting out of a contract is easy.
In many cases, you pay a fee, taking the risk you can make that back and more with a better deal.

Contracts make people feel better than handshakes.
That said, nothing is ever ironclad.

A marriage is a legal contract.

Thousands of those contracts are broken hourly all over this planet.

 

[jackscoutgirl]

Wow. Thank you for the reply.
Makes me even more nervous, but I am going to do as you say.

Thank you so much for your advice.