What do I do someone drives my car and gets

[Crex]

My car was being stored at my friends house since I had no license for a couple years and have about 1 month until I can get it back. Since I had no licence I didn't have car insurance either.

A friend drove my car and got in an accident. The car was not insured and and my friend that was driving the car had no license or insurance. The accident was my friends fault and there were no injuries only damage to the car. Now I find out the other party in the accident is trying to have me pay for the damages to their car since the car is in my name. Can they do this? Do I have any course of action? Can I just ignore it and have them take me to small claims court and if, so what are my changes of winning. I live in California and the accident happened here in California.

I appreciate any information provided to me.
thanks,
Crex

 

[Duranie]

Probably not. They do not have much of a case i don't think. If your friend drove your car without your permissin you could have reported it stolen.

 

[CdwJava]

Unfortunately, this is not auto theft as it was not taken from the owner without permission. Also, unfortunately, the registered owner can be held accountable for the damages ... though I suspect that they will have a better civil case if they also sue the driver.

Depending on the amount of the damages, you might consider contacting an attorney. Since you are apparently the legal owner of the car, you are exposed to some liability. In California the way to avoid such liability is to submit a Release of Liability to the DMV ... since that did not appear to have happened, you might both be on the hook here. However, I suspect the driver will be the party held most accountable as he drove the vehicle without permission knowing he did not have a license.



- Carl