Dealership tries to make employee pay accident deductible.

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ADeadBlindKid

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About a month ago I quit my job from a Nissan dealership in north Texas as a Detailer. I finished my two weeks, but on my last day I got in an accident driving a dealership vehicle. I worked there 8 months and never had a wreck, in fact my manager said if I wanted to come back he'd hire me back in a heart beat. Nonetheless, the dealership is trying to make me pay the deductible on repairs on the Pathfinder I was driving at the time. What happened in the wreck was I was backing out of the garage and there was a customer car parked in the driveway where they're not suppose to park, I looked in my rearview mirror and the right side mirror but didn't see a thing, but turns out the left mirror was the one I didn't look at and was the only mirror I could have seen the customer car in because of the way he was parked in the driveway. It wasn't a bad wreck, the back driver's side of the pathfinder I was driving was all that got damaged and the front passenger of the customers car got damaged. I believe the dealership told the man who's car I hit they would buy it off of him and put him in a new one, and I'm pretty positive that's what they did. So the body shop we have there called and gave me an estimate on the costs for repair for the Nissan pathfinder totally just under $1300 and told me how they have a $5000 deductible on every car, but since the repairs didn't need that much I didn't have to pay that much. I have the money and could pay but I'm unsure if I have to legally. I tried looking at some laws to help me figure this out and it seems to me that under the common law of Respondeat Superior I shouldn't have to pay. There is no way I was acting outside of the scope of my employment partly because the only reason I was even pulling the car out was to pull another one in. My co-worker saw what happened and knows it wasn't me messing around or something like that. And here's the other thing they told me to claim it on my insurance, so I did and they denied coverage saying that the dealership would have the insurance and pay for it. So here's the thing to me, beyond the Respondeat Superior law, you pay your own deductible. If it was my car and I had it insured with a company, got in an accident and there was a deductible I would have to pay it cause it's my insurance and my car. Same thing with the dealership, a dealership car is in a wreck the owner of the vehicle, Nissan dealership in this case, would have to pay the deductible because it is their insurance that it is covered on. That's just the way it works as far as my understanding goes. Also under Respondeat Superior the employer is liable for the employee, that includes the good, profit, and the bad, accidents. So I just need some advice to help me figure out if I am correct in thinking that I'm not actually liable to pay for this accident. Any help is much appreciated!
 
Only a court can determine if you should pay.

The employer can only ask.

If you say nothing (which is what I'd do), the employer would have to sue you.

I don't think they will sue you, because its easier to scare money out of you.

So, ignore them. If they sue, you'll be served by a sheriff or a constable. Then you'll appear and small claims court and tell your story.

Forget that "legalese", in small claims court, just tell the truth. You were doing your duties and had an accident. As long as you were acting within the scope of your employment (which you were), they won't prevail.

You detailed cars. As part of your duties you had to move the cars about the lot and to a nearby gas station. You didn't get drunk and end up in Houston. You were merely acting within the scope of your employment.


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I agree. Since you were doing your work duties when the damage happened, I would not pay. See if they sue you - they may not. If they do, they "probably" will not win though it is the court's/judge's decision.
 
Alright well that's what I've been doing and so far they haven't tried to contact me in about 3 weeks, so I'm just gonna ignore it and see what happens cause i think you're right, i don't think they will win.
 
Great - so far, so good. I "doubt" they would win a case against you if they did take you to court (though again, of course, judge's decision).
 
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