Being sued twice

[Isaac Hinson]

Jurisdiction

California

Hey everyone, I have a few questions regarding a lawsuit that I'm involved in.

here is the situation: in October 2019 I was involved in a motorcycle accident where I was at fault and uninsured. I damaged the individuals rear bumper and quarter panel. The accident happened at around speeds of 10-15mph. There were no injuries reported at the time and we both refused to be seen by medical at the time. She provided an insurance card with someone else's name on it. Because I was uninsured, I offered to pay for the damages to her car out of pocket. She quoted me almost $10k to repair the damages for her car which was worth around $4.5k. She ended up filing a lawsuit against me for the $10k and the judge decided that I would pay her the value of her car. I paid her the $4.5k that her car was valued at. Now, in August of 2021 she filed another lawsuit against me claiming injuries now for the same incident. The only way I found out about me being involved in another lawsuit was because she called me and left a voicemail stating that I had missed the court date and that I needed to show up on 1/6/22 for the next court date to reimburse her for medical reasons. I never received any mail or official summons.

I'm wondering what my options could be for this situation? I'm not even sure the details of the new lawsuit aside from the fact that it's for medical reasons. I'm not sure how to retrieve a copy of the lawsuit or any paperwork or what next steps I should take. Any info is greatly appreciated.

 

[adjusterjack]

You start with a phone call to your county court (or you might be able to do a case search online) and check for any lawsuits under your name. If you get a hit, go visit the court and get a copy of the summons, complaint, and the process service verification.

Once you have all that you are welcome to come back to this thread for additional conversation.

Or, you can hire yourself an attorney.

 

[army judge]

I'm not sure how to retrieve a copy of the lawsuit or any paperwork or what next steps I should take. Any info is greatly appreciated.

You can begin your search using the official LA County Court website:

Civil Division - LA Court

Your county government only charges you $4.75 plus taxes to conduct a civil case search.

At least you'll learn the truth.

By the way, you should talk to a couple LICENSED CA attorneys about this mess.

You might only be looking at the tip of the spear.

You were operating a motor vehicle without having a valid insurance policy in effect.

Do you have a motorcycle endorsement on your driver's license?

Was the motorcycle properly titles and licensed?

No need to answer the above questions for me.

The answers will probably be useful to your attorney.

You need to get this mess cleaned up ASAP, mate.

If you don't, your life will be negatively impacted for quite some time to come.

 

[welkin]

Hire an attorney and Google res judicata. The case was already heard by a court and resolved. She doesn't get another bite of the apple.

 

[Redemptionman]

Yes especially if she called you, that makes me think it is small claims. I would check with an attorney in your area since you were not served with an actual complaint.

 

[adjusterjack]

Hire an attorney and Google res judicata. The case was already heard by a court and resolved. She doesn't get another bite of the apple.

No. The damage and the injury are separate causes of action and can be handled with separate lawsuits though there could be some issues if not handled properly.

See the responses of California attorneys at the following site.

Can you file separate lawsuits for personal injury and property damage in California? - Legal Answers - Avvo

 

[zddoodah]

I'm wondering what my options could be for this situation?

1. Do nothing and deal with the consequences.
2. Hire an attorney.
3. Try and figure all of this out yourself. Start by visiting the courthouse (court clerk's office) and viewing the court file to see if there is a proof of service on file and, if so, when and how does it claim you were served with the summons and complaint.
4. File bankruptcy.

There are probably a couple other basic options, and there are many things that flow from the options above.

I'm not sure how to retrieve a copy of the lawsuit or any paperwork

See option #3 above.

Hire an attorney and Google res judicata. The case was already heard by a court and resolved. She doesn't get another bite of the apple.

Maybe. Maybe not. We don't have a clear picture of how the first lawsuit was concluded.

The damage and the injury are separate causes of action and can be handled with separate lawsuits

Property damages and personal injuries are not causes of action at all. They are elements of damages. In the situation addressed at the link you posted, the property damage and PI claims were by two different plaintiffs. That's why the responses indicated they could be filed separately.

 

[flyingron]

I see no indication that there are separate plaintiffs.

 

[adjusterjack]

Property damages and personal injuries are not causes of action at all.

Gee, maybe you can educate the lawyer that responded at the link I posted:

"Property damage and bodily injury claims are separate claims, and you can have a separate cause of action for each."

 

[Zigner]

Gee, maybe you can educate the lawyer that responded at the link I posted:

"Property damage and bodily injury claims are separate claims, and you can have a separate cause of action for each."

It's about the words: The damages arise due to the cause of action.

If I run in to your car and cause $10,000 in damage, the cause of action is the negligence, and the damages are a result of that negligence.

 

[Isaac Hinson]

I'm located in California and I recently had a civil lawsuit filed against me and apparently missed a court date for it. The only way I found out I was being sued is because the plaintiff called me and said I missed the court date and that I needed to show up to the next one. I never received any mail or any other official summons or notice. I contacted the court that it was filed with and confirmed there actually was a lawsuit against me. The court date I missed was in October and the plaintiff just recently called me (December) and informed me that I missed the court date and the second court date is in January (less than 25 days away). In the minutes for the court hearing I
missed it was stated that the plaintiff had no proof of
service. I'm wondering if I'm at all obligated to even show up? Could it default without me being properly served?

 

[welkin]

It could but why take the chance. Get an attorney.

 

[flyingron]

You very much can get a default judgment against you. It shouldn't happen because the case shouldn't be heard without proof. I suspect this may be why the case was continued to the new date. Service only needs to happen five days before the court date, so don't think you're home free.

I'd get an attorney lined up. Most likely the first thing he'll do is move to postpone the date anyhow because he needs time to review.