Question of legal nature

[Widewing]

Wide the court said otherwise. The vehicle was stolen while we were in the theater, was involved in a wreck which killed one, injured 2 others. The car itself and the damages, in the judgement of the court, was my responsibility not the responsibility of the thief. Moreover, there was a hint that the thief's had a reasonable expectation that the car they stole would be safe for operation on the roadways; go figure (one tire was deemed marginal on wear). That judgement came in civil court, in Oklahoma County, Ok.

You can "try" anything in the courts but be prepared for the judgements not being what you expect, I personally know that. I never got a penny for the damages to the car awarded.

Here's what most states, including Oklahoma follow (or is supposed to follow):

Crashed while Stolen: If your car is stolen, and the person who stole it causes an accident, it is unlikely that you will be held responsible for any damages to other people, or to property, but even if the thief is insured, you probably will have to pay for damages to your own car via your collision coverage. The average thief, however, isn't likely to have insurance, and even if they do, their insurance won't pay for an accident caused during a criminal act. There are exceptions that courts can consider, one being Contributory Negligence, where you leave the car unlocked, or the keys in the ignition. I suspect that the Judge in your case was of the opinion that your car should be repaired via your insurance policy. You were not going to get anything from the thief. However, that doesn't mean you were responsible, you were insured for just such an event.

[CAP1]

dood.....don't sweat it. there's always gonna be those looking for a conspiracy.

[MarineUS]

dood.....don't sweat it. there's always gonna be those looking for a conspiracy.

 

[MaSonZ]

Im late to the party, but I would fight tooth and nail for him to pay the repair bills on the truck. He caused it, he should pay for it. If its all under the 6500 he loaned you, you pay him the difference, if its equal too or greater than he pays you nothing or the surplus. Just my. 02 on the matter.

[MarineUS]

Im late to the party, but I would fight tooth and nail for him to pay the repair bills on the truck. He caused it, he should pay for it. If its all under the 6500 he loaned you, you pay him the difference, if its equal too or greater than he pays you nothing or the surplus. Just my. 02 on the matter.

This is what I was thinking.

[SAJ73]

In any way, I would also take into strong consideration that the truck will never be the same truck ever again after being involved in a crash..
It might be fixed, working fine and all. But still it will never have the same value, and issues WILL come sneaking in on it later on. Be sure of it!

This really is a mess.. At first I thought you borrowed the $6500 to buy this truck, if that was the case "I" would have told my "friend" to come pick up the rest of it and call it the day.

But since this is not how this went down from the beginning, I would strongly advice you to go talk to a lawyer about this. Get the story straight first, so everything gets on the table.

You might have to pay back the $6500, but I also think you might have some rights to claim some $$$ back for the loss of your truck..

[SlapShot]

I would strongly advice you to go talk to a lawyer about this. Get the story straight first, so everything gets on the table.

Best piece of advise right there.

[dedalos]

Keep it simple.  Take him to court for the damages to the truck.  The rest should be irrelevant to that case.  If he does not want to figure something reasonable out about the loan, the truck, and the equipment, I'd take him to court and let him do the same about the loan witch he will lose unless you go in there and confirm that you were going to pay him back.  With out paper work, it was a gift.  If the gloves are off, they are off.   If not, then see if you guys try to figure this out.

[Tec]

Take him to court for the damages to the truck. 

He's already accepted payment from the guy who was drivings insurance, once that's done isn't it pretty much a done deal legally as far as getting anything else?

[dedalos]

He's already accepted payment from the guy who was drivings insurance, once that's done isn't it pretty much a done deal legally as far as getting anything else?

Nop, if anything, they admit being at fault by making the payment.  If I total your car and give you $10, is it legally over?  The insurance company does not decide what you should get.  Only what they should pay.  You can always go to court for what ever you think you should get over that amount.  Not saying you are going to win, but if you can prove the payment was not enough, you should win. 

[MarineUS]

Thanks guys. It's good to have some fresh thoughts/ideas on things. 

[Tigger29]

Lets look at this from a logical point of view.  First I have to assume that you have (had?) two vehicles.. a car and a truck.  Your friend loaned you $6500 to buy the car with the agreement that you'd let him use your truck to move when he got home.  So he gave you the money and you paid off the car.  (I'm assuming the truck was already paid for)

Then when he got home he used your truck and wrecked it.

So here's the way I see it.. you still owe him the $6500 (or the remaining balance thereof).  This does NOT CHANGE unless you have a written contract saying otherwise.

HOWEVER, since he was in possession of your truck when it was damaged (meaning he's responsible for it) he should OWE YOU the cost of replacing or repairing the truck.  He has NO RIGHT to keep the radio or the tool box (you can probably report these to the police as stolen).

Now there may be some gray areas here... in other words if a verbal contract isn't binding where you live you may be able to weasel out of paying him back for the car loan.. but he also may be able to weasel out of paying you for the truck damages as well.

If you can't work this out then you two will need to settle this in court and this is probably how it's going to unfold:

1> He sues you for the $6500 (plus legal fees)
2> You counter sue him for the damages to the truck (and to the cost of the radio equipment and the toolbox and legal fees)
3> The judge will probably award him the difference of the two (or award you the difference if the truck and equipment is worth more than $6500)

If it were me I'd probably tell him where to shove it and wait for him to pursue legal action and take things from there

Now the fact that I think you're crazy for spending so much money on a tool box and audio equipment is irrelevant.  Also the fact that I think you're crazy for borrowing such a substantial amount of money from a friend is irrelevant as well.  All you can do is make this into a learning experience and try to leave friends out of your financial matters in the future.

Sounds like this may make a good episode of "People's court" haha

[MarineUS]

The toolbox came with the truck

 I got the radio when I was still living with my parents but that is how I figured it would play out. I'm no lawyer, but I'm not fool either. Just wanted to make sure I had my ducks in a row before I dove in.