It happened at a parking lot of Trader Joe’s (5767 Calle Real, Goleta, CA 93117) on Feb. 6th, 2015. I was sitting in my car and ready to leave when I heard something hit my car heavily. I immediately got off my car and saw that a guy have thrown a metal shopping cart towards my car which was right next to his car. Then he admitted his fault verbally, and left me his name, number, and address. I followed up a call later and he didn't deny either. He did contacted his insurance agent afterwards, however his insurance doesn't cover the collision that is not caused by his car. I went to an auto shop, and got an estimate. I want him to pay for the repairing fee which is a result of his carelessness. Now he does not respond any more.
It's $902.28 on the estimate. It's his responsibility to
First send him a copy of the bill/receipt, confirm in writing what happened, and why his auto ins co said they wont pay. Give him 10-15 days to pay. if he doesn't agree and start paying, then sue him in small claims.
You can file a lawsuit in small claims court, but the time and money you spend will be wasted if you win and this deadbeat doesn't have the money to pay the judgment.
You could file a lawsuit in small claims court or a limited jurisdiction case in Superior Court. There are certain thing to keep in mind about choosing where to file your suit, such as:
-A small claims court suit would cost less to file than a limited jurisdiction case.
-The parties in a small claims case cannot be represented by counsel at the trial.
-There is typically no formal discovery in small claims cases.
If you do prevail in your suit, keep in mind that you still would have to enforce the judgment. This is not a simple task and may require a lawyer to properly do so, e.g., file abstract of judgment, obtain writ of attachment, file UCC lien on personal property, etc.
Send the responsible party a letter, certified return receipt, include your estimate and demand he pay for repair. You should do this before you file in small claims court. You should also check with your own insurance company to see if you have coverage for this.
