If I was in a car accident in a friend’s vehicle and I’ve paid him what I think is fair for the amount of the carbut he wants more, do I owe him additional money?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If I was in a car accident in a friend’s vehicle and I’ve paid him what I think is fair for the amount of the carbut he wants more, do I owe him additional money?
This happened 2 years ago. My friend lent me his car after he lost his license. I ended up rolling his car, however 2 weeks prior he had smashed his right side quarter panel and rear bumper completely off the car. After I rolled it I told him I would repay him for the car. To this day I have given him $1700 but he still wants more. No assessment was done before or after the accident so no exact price was given to the vehicle. He wants $1000 more for the vehicle. Do I legally owe him $1000 more?
Asked on July 9, 2012 under Accident Law, New York
Answers:
Robert Slim / Robert C. Slim - Attorney at Law
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
You owe the fair market value of the vehicle at the time of the accident (minus any salvage value). For example, if his car was worth $2,000 before the accident, and had a salvage value of $500 after the accident, then you owe him $1,500.
I couldn't help but notice that the accident is approaching two years. In Texas, there is a two-year statute of limtiations to sue for recovery of damages resulting from a car accident. That is, unless a lawsuit is filed within that time, then the time period expires to assert any claims.
However, if your friend can allege that you and he had a 'settlement agreement" and that you breached that agreement, he has four years from the date that the agreement was breached to assert his claim for any recovery on the agreement. If you merely paid him voluntarily without a formal written or specific verbal agreement to do so, then I would say the two-year time limit applies. Since you state that there was no particular value placed on the vehicle nor any deadline to pay for the damages, then I would say you and he did not have an enforceable "agreement."
Therefore, if you feel like you've paid him sufficiently, then I would leave well enough alone and see if he makes the move to take legal action within the two year deadline.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.