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I'm being sued ??(Update) Dismissed!!

6

68bucks

Member
I received a "Write of Summons" in the mail awhile back from Baltimore city court house that I am being accused of causing an accident on I-95 highway, the letter also stated that I was to appear in a pre-trial hearing in June. OK, So I write what I know about the accident, which is absolutely nothing because I wasn't there or did I witness an accident on the date stated in the letter or any other time for that matter, and send it back to the court house and everyone else that was on the list (Esquires, Plaintiffs) as required.

Well I don't know if they liked my letter because they moved up the pretrial to 4-21 and I get another notice that the Plaintiffs are requesting a Jury trial. So now I'm getting a little worried and really can't afford a lawyer especially for something I didn't have any parts in.

I did speak with the Plaintiffs Lawyer to find out why they think I'm involved and he tells me that my name is on a Police report from the accident as a driver of a old bus that was broken down and obstructing traffic and his client swerved to miss the bus and caused another car to crash and since he had swerve to miss my bus it's my fault. I tried to explain to him that It was not my bus and I was not there and have no idea how my name or address got on a Police report, he just said I should seek council.

I have followed the procedure to obtain the Police report by automated system, but it apparently did not work, because it never showed up so I'm heading to the Police dept. tomorrow to see if I can get it in person to hopefully see an obvious mistake.

I planned on going to the pretrial without a lawyer and hoped that the people involved would realize that I'm not the guy and I wouldn't have to come up with the funds to pay for a lawyer, but I'm not sure if this a good idea. What if they don't remember what the actual misidentified person looked like? Not sure what I should do?

Thanks,
Dave.
 
Re: I'm being sued ?? Advise Please!! (Kinda long)

Call around. Several lawyers will do like a $50 consult to tell you where you stand. Just have as much paperwork as you can to go with you.
 
Re: I'm being sued ?? Advise Please!! (Kinda long)

I would go talk to the city attorny and explain what is going on. Tell him flat out you were not even there and your planning on sue the local police department for misusing your name. You will get his attention.
 
Re: I'm being sued ?? Advise Please!! (Kinda long)

Personally, I would not spend a cent on a lawyer. Do you have any proof of your wear abouts at the time of the accident? Can you run the info on the bus to see who owns it?
 
Re: I'm being sued ?? Advise Please!! (Kinda long)

The info I currently have doesn't give a time of day of the accident, but the 8th of Dec. 08 was a Monday which would have put me at work and in my company F-150, Problem with the alibi is I'm Salary and I am considered overhead and not required to keep a timesheet or a log for my daily work load and nobody I work with would recall my days activties for that date. I will dig a little more though to see if any of my crews from that time might have something in their logs.

I was told the bus is a 68 GMC. I am going to also make a visit to the DMV after I hopefully get the Police report and see if I can get more info on it.

Thanks.l
 
Re: I'm being sued ?? Advise Please!! (Kinda long)

I work in the claims dept of a insurance company and every once in awhile one of our insureds would get a nasty letter from a plaintiff's attorney claiming they were involved in an accident, although it never was at the stage where someone was summoned to court. It's simply a case of mistaken indentity; you happen to have the same name as the driver of the bus and the lazy plaintiff attorney has not bothered to confirm the actual parties in the case. If there is a police report with the name of the bus driver, there should be his driver's license number and the lic plate of the bus on the report and you can show these to the court to confirm you are not the bus driver. You will need to go to the police dept and request a copy of the p/report or just call the plaintiff atny and have him fax it to you. Good luck.
 
Re: I'm being sued ?? Advise Please!! (Kinda long)

The burden of proof that you were there is the plaintiff's. The Police report is the first thing you need to get a copy of. You will get all the info from the bus.

Get the Police report first, read it and see what it says. You will be able to get date and time. Figure out what you were doing on that date and time and get a witness.

Then you just clam up until discovery. When you show where you were and what you were doing and you were not there, you ask for dismissal.

Then you counter sue for your expenses since you were falsely accused.

Mel
 
Re: I'm being sued ?? Advise Please!! (Kinda long)

"SAC69" said:
I work in the claims dept of a insurance company and every once in awhile one of our insureds would get a nasty letter from a plaintiff's attorney claiming they were involved in an accident, although it never was at the stage where someone was summoned to court. It's simply a case of mistaken indentity; you happen to have the same name as the driver of the bus and the lazy plaintiff attorney has not bothered to confirm the actual parties in the case. If there is a police report with the name of the bus driver, there should be his driver's license number and the lic plate of the bus on the report and you can show these to the court to confirm you are not the bus driver. You will need to go to the police dept and request a copy of the p/report or just call the plaintiff atny and have him fax it to you. Good luck.
Click to expand...

I think this is the smartest path to take.
 
Re: I'm being sued ?? Advise Please!! (Kinda long)

Insurance was another question. Why haven't I been contacted by anyone's insurance or issued a citation for obstructing traffic on a major interstate. My driving record is still clean to date.

I will try for the report today at the Police dept. I didn't know that the Plaintiffs Lawyer would send me a copy, I will definitely request it if I have problems at the Barracks.

I'm glad I posted this on here... Everyone's response has been positive! I truly appreciate it!

Dave.
 
Re: I'm being sued ?? Advise Please!! (Kinda long)

As mentioned, police report first. Then the DMV. Show it is not you and then a nice visit to the DA and call to the attorney. You don't need to spend a dime.
 
Re: I'm being sued ?? Advise Please!! (Kinda long)

At the risk of stating the obvious, if you have an automobile liability insurance policy, it most likely includes cost of defense. Contact your insurance claims office, open a claim and tell them you have been sued. An attorney will be assigned to defend you. Don't talk directly with anyone involved in the lawsuit, let your lawyer do the talking.
 
Re: I'm being sued ?? Advise Please!! (Kinda long)

"JeffTepper" said:
At the risk of stating the obvious, if you have an automobile liability insurance policy, it most likely includes cost of defense. Contact your insurance claims office, open a claim and tell them you have been sued. An attorney will be assigned to defend you. Don't talk directly with anyone involved in the lawsuit, let your lawyer do the talking.
Click to expand...

This is good advice that I should have addressed, your carrier is obligated to investigate the loss and provide a defense, I'm not sure about your state, but here in Calif, when a defendant is served with a Summons & Complaint they have a limited amount of time to respond to the complaint or are presumed to be guilty by default. I would get a copy of the P/R and call your carrier, no need to await the P/R before calling your carrier.
 
Re: I'm being sued ?? Advise Please!! (Kinda long)

The info I currently have doesn't give a time of day of the accident, but the 8th of Dec. 08 was a Monday which would have put me at work and in my company F-150, Problem with the alibi is I'm Salary and I am considered overhead and not required to keep a timesheet or a log for my daily work load and nobody I work with would recall my days activties for that date. I will dig a little more though to see if any of my crews from that time might have something in their logs.
Click to expand...

Dig a REAL BIG hole in the ground and bury the bus in your backyard.... and then grow weed in the bus.

From my local news.....

http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/81361517.html?storySection=story
 
Re: I'm being sued ?? Advise Please!! (Kinda long)

I'm surprised there hasn't been that done out here in the land of the fruits and nuts -- The People's Republik of Kalifornia...where they're trying to get it on the ballot this Nov. to legalize weed not just medically, but totally!!
 
Re: I'm being sued ?? Advise Please!! (Kinda long)

I also was thinking your insurance co would defend you--be carefull they don't settle without them showing you everything they have agreed to, your own company might sell you out if they think it is cheaper for them to do so, I would try the police dept where it was supposed to have happened at and go from there, I probably would not spend any of my own money till I absolutely felt I had to. Good luck!
 
Re: I'm being sued ?? Advise Please!! (Kinda long)

Most if not all employers keep a record of vacation and sick days used.

One would assume if you didn't call in sick that day and you weren't on vacation then you were at work.

Do you have any old calendars to show what jobs / appointments you had that day?

I agree the first thing to do is get a copy of the police report.
 
Re: I'm being sued ?? Advise Please!! (Kinda long)

Up date on my dilemma.

First of all, not that he will see this, but I owe a great deal of appreciation to Md. State Police officer that helped me today!! Although I went to the wrong Barrack for the P/R, he spent about two hours with me investigating it anyway!
After I received the report he explained that I was listed as the owner, not the driver of the vehicle that caused a 5 car pile up at 1:07AM
The vehicle is listed as a 68 GMC bus but the Vin and Tag # on the report is from my 68 Mustang which he confirmed running MVA records there at the Barrack, he also stated that the bus was badly damaged and had to be towed. He then ran the MVA records of the driver of my 68 GMC Bus listed on the P/R and found that he owned a 62 GMC bus with a Tag # Identical to my Mustang except the two last digits are reversed (the last two on mine are 92 and his are 29) State law will not allow him to release MVA record generated at the Barracks, but what he did was write a letter stating his findings and the fact the the tag # was on the P/R wrong and signed and date stamped it. He told me that he most likely be summoned for this, but I told him I would buy him lunch if he were!

I guess my next step should be to let The Insurance company the insures my Mustang know the situation and pass on all the info, but I would kinda like to do what Mel said and "Clam up" and go to the Pre-trial and and let all the Plaintiffs spew how they hit my 68 GMC bus and then break out photos of my undamaged Mustang and the letter the officer wrote and ask to be dismissed! That would be Awesome!

Thanks,
Dave.
 
Re: I'm being sued ?? Advise Please!! (Update)

and then counter sue, pain & suffering, dragging your good name through the mud, the fact that they are incompetent, dumb pucks! Add enough to take the LEO to lunch too :ecit
 
Re: I'm being sued ?? Advise Please!! (Update)

I'd be careful getting your insurance involved. I was once accused of running a lady of the road. She described a car to the police that she claimed pulled out in front of her and forced her off the road. The police searched the area business parking lots in the following days and found my car fit her description. She didn't have a licence plate number but the police called me, and asked me a bunch of questions. Anyway, long story short, my insurance defended me but my rates went up even thought we won the case because it cost them money to defend me!
 
Re: I'm being sued ?? Advise Please!! (Update)

I would contact the lazy attorney, reveal my hand and suggest that he clean up his mistake.

Layin' it on him at pre-trial would be pretty sweet too.

Where's Kevin at? Didn't he say he was a Lawyer?
 
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