Wrongly sued: do I have enough proof for dismissal?

[unsure25]

What is the name of your state? California

Yesterday, I received lawsuit papers stating that myself and 19+ other drivers were responsible for an alleged car accident that occurred 2 years ago and supposedly caused someone $500,000+ neck injuries. I have never been informed of any accident involving my vehicle in the past two years. I want the lawyer who is bringing this case against me to drop it immediately for the following reasons:

1) I was not even in the country at the time of the accident, and I have passport records to prove it.

2) I was out of the country so long that I had suspended my insurance until my return, so I had no insurance at the time of the "accident."

3) The lawsuit stated specifically that the car involved was a Honda Accord. But I don't have a Honda Accord; I have a Civic.

Is this enough evidence to show that I am in no way involved in this? I don't really want to hire an expensive lawyer to state these simple things; but do I need to hire a lawyer? How and to whom do I convey this information if I don't hire a lawyer? Is it OK to call/write the plaintiff's attorney directly to inform him of these facts? What is my proper course of action at this point?
Thank you for any help. I'm very stressed out and concerned about all this.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

What is the name of your state? California

Yesterday, I received lawsuit papers stating that myself and 19+ other drivers were responsible for an alleged car accident that occurred 2 years ago and supposedly caused someone $500,000+ neck injuries. I have never been informed of any accident involving my vehicle in the past two years. I want the lawyer who is bringing this case against me to drop it immediately for the following reasons:

1) I was not even in the country at the time of the accident, and I have passport records to prove it.

2) I was out of the country so long that I had suspended my insurance until my return, so I had no insurance at the time of the "accident."

3) The lawsuit stated specifically that the car involved was a Honda Accord. But I don't have a Honda Accord; I have a Civic.

Is this enough evidence to show that I am in no way involved in this? I don't really want to hire an expensive lawyer to state these simple things; but do I need to hire a lawyer? How and to whom do I convey this information if I don't hire a lawyer? Is it OK to call/write the plaintiff's attorney directly to inform him of these facts? What is my proper course of action at this point?
Thank you for any help. I'm very stressed out and concerned about all this.

My response:

Assuming that no one else had access to your car with your express or implied permission, or that your car wasn't stolen and driven by the thief, then by all means call Plaintiff's counsel to set up a meeting to show your evidence. If everything is in order, and you can answer "No" to the above assumptions, then the attorney should willingly file a dismissal as your name.

IAAL

 

[unsure25]

but how...

How do I prove that I didn't give permission to anyone to use the car? Or how can they prove that I did?

And also, is it standard practice to call the plaintiff's attorney? Somehow I feel like they can use this against me.

 

[LdiJ]

How do I prove that I didn't give permission to anyone to use the car? Or how can they prove that I did?

And also, is it standard practice to call the plaintiff's attorney? Somehow I feel like they can use this against me.

Where WAS the car during this time? Is there any possibility that someone could have been driving it and could have been in the accident? If you have never had an accident in the car, and bought it new, then have a mechanic go over it and see if there have been any repairs consistant with a chain reaction accident.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My further response:

Was the car damaged while you were gone? Does its license plate number appear on a Traffic Collision Report?

IAAL

 

[stephenk]

a 20 car accident? There has to be a police report.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

Notice that our writer is no longer responding. I'll bet he knows the answers to our questions, and knows he's screwed.

IAAL

 

[JETX]

Yep, I kind of figured that from the 'careful' wording of his first post.
He may have been out of the country, but the vehicle that he was responsible for (as owner) was very likely in the accident.... and without any insurance.

 

[unsure25]

I am responding; I just don't hover over the keyboard all day

No damage to the car as far as I can tell, there was no notice to me that an accident had occurred with the car... as far as I know, the car never moved from the place where I parked it. The only person (my roommate) who could have had access to the car, was out of town that day at a wedding and has any number of witnesses who can testify that she was thousands of miles away, in Massachusetts.

If my car was somehow involved in this alleged accident, shouldn't I have been notified somehow that something happened, like a mailing from the police or something? Or do I have to ask police for any incidents reported involving my vehicle?

My feeling is that there was some kind of accident, but my car was not involved, and the person supposedly injured just randomly got the license plate numbers of 20 cars so they could get money. It seems very suspicious to me that is what the summons says:

"... that defendant XXXXXX XXXXXXX and DOES ONE through TEN were the owners of that certain Honda Accord which was being driven and operated by defendants and DOES TWO through TWENTY...."

I don't even have a Honda Accord!

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

I don't even have a Honda Accord!

My response:

Okay!!!

So, the attorney got the model of your car wrong!! So what?

The license plate is all that matters. Call the attorney and ask to see a copy of Traffic Collision Report. Bring all of your proof with you to the attorney's office.

IAAL

 

[fejee]

If there was a police report(which I assume there is, considering this was a multi car pile up) who does it show as the driver of your vehicle, does the license plate match your vehicle? Can any of the involved parties identify you as the person driving your alleged vehicle?

It would be a good idea to refer the law suit to your insurance carrier even though you say you had suspended covergae for your policy. Let the insurance carrier decide whether this is a covered loss. The duty to defend is greater than the duty to indemnify for the carrier. Should they decide to defend you under a reservation of right, maybe they obtain information through discovery(legal investigation)that may prove your vehicle was not an involved vehicle in this accident and they may ask the plaintiff's attorney to dismiss the action against you.

However, should your insurance company decide not provide you with a defense and if you can establish your vehicle was not involved in this loss, you should certainly contact the plaintiff's lawyer and see if he will dismiss you.

Have you contacted the insurance carrier for the party making the claim against you and the others? What is their position as to any liability assessed against you and what is their theory of liability against you (other than your vehicle was the one partly or fully responsible for this loss)?

Check the police report to see if the officer(s) took pictures of all the involved vehicles. If they did take pictures, you should ask your or the plaintiff's insurance carrier to obtain those pictures to establish they have the wrong vehicle.

Good luck.

 

[JETX]

If there was a police report(which I assume there is, considering this was a multi car pile up) who does it show as the driver of your vehicle, does the license plate match your vehicle? Can any of the involved parties identify you as the person driving your alleged vehicle?

You are 'johnny come lately' to this parade which already passed four days ago. Simply, everything in your post has already been said.