Serving Papers for Small Claims Court

[mike3080]

Jurisdiction

California

Hi, I am looking into taking an auto insurance company to small claims court in California. I was rear-ended on the freeway, I have video of the crash, and responsibility was accepted by the offending driver's insurance company (ODIC). My car has been repaired, and a bodily injury case is in process for my wife. The ODIC has, from the start, been surly, slow, and difficult to deal with.

I need to take the driver and the ODIC to small claims court for the diminished value (DV) of my car, since 3rd-party assessment says the DV is over $9K and the ODIC has said they will only pay $2.2K.

Finally, my question: How do I serve the court papers to the ODIC? Their claims adjuster is in Colorado and the papers have to be served in California. The only path for me to communicate with the ODIC, other than by phone, is through a claim-specific email address, so I don't even have a physical address for the adjuster in Colorado. The law firm working on my wife's injury case says auto damage is a completely different department of the ODIC from the bodily injury department, and so they can't help me.

Thank you for any help!

 

[Zigner]

You don't sue the insurance company. You sue the other party.

 

[army judge]

Unless you were driving a rare collector car, an expensive NEW luxury vehicle, you can forget obtaining any additional monies for most of the known brand name gasoline powered automobiles, despite what you may have valued the vehicle.

There's no Lucky Leprechaun and his pot of gold waiting to make you the newest California billionaire.

 

[Redemptionman]

^ this is not correct, has your attorney for the injuries to your wife filed his claim yet? Has a civil complaint been prepared for those injuries? Usually you include all damages into the civil complaint which exceeds the value of a local court jurisdiction. You will or can get it back that way which won't be much more than your rental car fees, payments made while in the body shop, and a little for diminished value. Not all states are diminished value but most have statues for economic loss of use. \

You wouldn't want to file a competing law suit against the same party for injuries/ damages sustained in the accident. Good Luck.

 

[Zigner]

^ this is not correct,

What out of the three prior posts are you referring to?

 

[mike3080]

My research implied I was to serve both the driver and the insurance company, so maybe that was bad Internet information.
I am surprised and disheartened by the "pot of gold" comment. I was not planning to sue because of the money, but because of the principle of the thing. And making assumptions such as that I have a gas-powered car, and that it is not new, are incorrect.
Redemptionman, thank you for your helpful information!

 

[Redemptionman]

My research implied I was to serve both the driver and the insurance company, so maybe that was bad Internet information.
I am surprised and disheartened by the "pot of gold" comment. I was not planning to sue because of the money, but because of the principle of the thing. And making assumptions such as that I have a gas-powered car, and that it is not new, are incorrect.
Redemptionman, thank you for your helpful information!

It is okay Adjusterjack is a retired insurance man, You would theoretically have to sue the driver personally which their insurance will step in to defend, also your own insurance company if you have under-insured or uninsured motorist coverage and anyone else who your attorney identifies with deep pockets. It is always about the money you get, I don't even try to pretend otherwise especially if your wife experienced a life changing injury. It is always about the money but I can tell you unless the driver who hit you has a bunch of policy limits then you are looking at a tough and long fight.

 

[adjusterjack]

The ODIC has, from the start, been surly, slow, and difficult to deal with.

That's because the ODIC (I like that) is not your insurance company and owes you nothing until a court of law says so and says how much. Until then it's just a negotiation for however long it takes.

BI claims take a long time to settle, especially if the injured person is under treatment.

As for the car damage, when you want faster service, use your own collision coverage if you have it. Your own company has a contractual obligation to you as well a statutory time limits on settling first party claims.

I know, you didn't want to pay your deductible (I've heard that before).

I need to take the driver and the ODIC to small claims court for the diminished value (DV) of my car, since 3rd-party assessment says the DV is over $9K and the ODIC has said they will only pay $2.2K.

Provide the year, make, model, submodel, mileage, pre-accident condition, VIN, and I'll give you an opinion as to the DV.

Of course, your third party assessment is high. Would you pay somebody to tell you the insurance assessment is correct?Think about it.

My research implied I was to serve both the driver and the insurance company, so maybe that was bad Internet information.

Yes, bad information.

I was not planning to sue because of the money, but because of the principle of the thing.

Made me laugh there. Nobody sues for principle, they sue for money. Otherwise, where your complaint asks for a dollar amount you would put zero and just seek a judgment that the other driver was at fault. You wouldn't do that, would you?

Again, provide the information about your car and I will give you an unbiased expert opinion about your DV.

I'm a retired adjuster but I'm also an insurance consumer and have been a victim in several accidents where other drivers were at fault.

 

[zddoodah]

I need to take the driver and the ODIC to small claims court

You can sue the driver. It would be improper to sue the insurer.

Finally, my question: How do I serve the court papers to the ODIC?

I have no idea what "ODIC" stands for, but any insurer licensed to write auto insurance in California will be qualified to do business in CA and have a resident agent for service of process, which you can look up here.

You should also familiarize yourself with the small claims-specific rules for service of process found in the Small Claims Act.

My research implied I was to serve both the driver and the insurance company, so maybe that was bad Internet information.

If you sue the other driver, you can serve your papers on the other driver's insurer (and I think it would be a good idea to do so). That's not bad information, but what you wrote in your original post was that you wanted to "take the [other] driver and [the other driver's insurer] to small claims court." To the extent anything you read told you to sue both the driver and the insurer, then that would be bad information.

 

[Zigner]

I have no idea what "ODIC" stands for,

The OP defined it as "offending driver's insurance company."