If someone backed into a plastic box that I left out in her driveway, am I now liable to pay for the minor damage to her car?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If someone backed into a plastic box that I left out in her driveway, am I now liable to pay for the minor damage to her car?
I just moved out of an increasingly tense situation with a landlord/roommate. I was loading the car to move out. She wasn’t home and therefore her car was not in the driveway while I was doing this. I placed a box, a plastic milk crate, on the side of the driveway. She came home and parked next to it. Later that day, she went to leave again and when backing up bumped into the crate. It left a small scratch on the plastic guard around tire. The crate and stuff in it was not damaged at all nor would I care if it was, however she’s demanding that I pay for whatever it costs to repair her car I’m guessing it’s going to require buffing the scratch. Is this fair? She’s claiming it was in her path, but if she was able to park initially it obviously wasn’t. The object was stationary; it was there before she parked and before she started backing out again. It seems to me any fault would be hers. Am I overlooking a detail here that would make me financially responsible for any repairs she has done to the car?
Asked on June 22, 2016 under Accident Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Yes, the detail you are overlooking is that you left a plastic milk crate--something that does not belong in a driveway or any place that cars or driven--in the driveway, and evidently did so for so several hours (i.e. you failed to move it after you'd had a more-than-ample time or opportunity to move it). Leaving an obstruction in a driveway for a long time is negligent or careless, and so could certainly make you liable, or financially responsible, for the damage your box caused.
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.