Mer, I originally thought you were being sued by those ass-hats in the hospital, as per this thread.
All I can say is good luck, all the best with the court appearance, and glad your dog is fine.
I know around here, if a dog is off-leash but in your driveway, you’ve not broken the law. Around here, dogs are only required to be on-leash if they’re off of your property. That would make a pretty big difference.
Was your dog really 25 lbs when it got hit? That’s the size of an exceptionally fat housecat – I’d be surprised if a dog that size was tall enough that it reached over the truck’s bumper.
I would definitely contact animal control and talk with them about the case, ask them if you’d done anything wrong. If he didn’t file a complaint with animal control, that might be in your favor – he didn’t establish at the time that he thought you’d done anything wrong.
FInally, have you thought about Judge Mathis? This sounds like exactly the sort of case court shows would love to take (cute puppydogs vs. testosterone trucks), and maybe you could both come out ahead.
Daniel
Well he was not exactly 25 lbs, the vet said he weighed 26. This pic of Buck and Jake was taken about 1 week before the incident. Just for reference Buck weighs 50 pounds. Jake was about 5 1/2 months old. He had been tied out but somehow got off the lead.
The police did come to the house right afterwards but did not cite us. The man said Jake was next to a dead possum by the side of the road. The possum was right next to our driveway but about 6 feet off the road.
I am in the process of collecting information for the court date. I have sent a letter to the party asking for a detailed estimate of damages and the name of his insurance company. I have not received a reply yet. He told me his deductable was $500 and he is suing for $650. I can only suppose the extra $150 is for his pain, suffering and annoyance. Bastard.
I probably have $650 just sitting in my household expenses account, but I just get the feeling he is trying to get one over on me and I do not take favorably to extortion. His insurance company never contacted me, I told him my homeowner’s would pay if they thought I was liable. As far as I know my ins company was never contacted by either him or his insurance company.
It just doesn’t add up. I am going to make him prove that I am liable and only then will I reimburse his insurance company for the deductable. If anyone has any case it would be his insurance company, not him.
Or Judge Judy, for that matter. I bet she would tear the wannabe con-artist a new one.
Ok, the dog in that picture was Jake? I used to have a small Toyota pick up, and the only part of my truck that could have struck a dog that small would have been my tire!
At least in CA, I don’t think they have lawyers in small claims, so there wouldn’t be any financial outlay there. I would fight this asshole tooth and nail, then pay him in fucking pennies if I lost. But that’s just me (not very serene today, am I?).
Inspection of his truck is paramount. You must be able to show that the damage was done by someone or something other than Jake. Also, measure the height of his bumper, and compare it to Jake’s height while standing up. Run the VIN (carfax.com always advertises on the radio aroundhere…) and get going.
Screw this asshole. Make us ALL feel better!
What was this guy doing driving six feet off the road? Man, I’d love to see fraud charges pressed against this guy. You’re keeping meticulous records, right? Imagine the sweetness of winning your court case and then taking a log of the entire debacle to the police and filing a complaint.
I’ve no idea if it’s realistic, but it seems like it’d be worth pursuing.
Daniel