Can I be sued for an accident that I had nothing to do with????

Question

I owned the car and was never in the accident? My spouce was in a car accident with my car and he had let the insurance lapse which I did not know about? now they have revolked my drivers licence and I have not had a ticket issued to me or anything for this accident. can they by law do that? I live in Colorado. I'm also being sued for almost $100,000

Answer 1

As the owner of the car, you are legaly responsible for what is done with it. It was your responsibility to have it insured as it is your car. You are responsible for the actions of those you allow to drive it. Unless it was stolen, and you reported the theft, you are responsible.

Answer 2

In California we have what is called "The Permissive Use" doctrine. What that holds is that the owner of a car who allows the use of the vehicle by another person can be held liable for any tortious act committed by that user in the course of that usage. The only recognized exception to that rule is if the user
exceeded either the time limit for the use or the scope of the use.
In other words, if he had permission to use the car to go to Wal Mart two blocks away and instead drove to Reno, that is an example of exceeding scope of permission. If he had permission to take the car for 1 hour, and kept it for 72 hours, thats an example of the other exception.
I assume by your use of the term "my car" that he was not on the title? If not, then the Permissive Use doctrine would apply, and most states have some variant of this idea. One thing that
you could argue is that if the car were bought during marriage, it
would be community property which he would arguably have an equal right to use, and not necessarily need permission, but thats a stretch at best. The question may also turn on his driving record. If he has a hostory of reckless driving, Im afraid it makes the case against you even stronger.
As to the judgment, (if it gets that far) you should be aware that his separate property assets would be used to satisfy the judgment. If those are insufficient, then community property would be next. But, the obverse of that is that you can bring an action against him in indemnity, if that helps at all.

Answer 3

yes. You owned it, you are liable for it. It was up to you to make sure that you took care of it by law. It's just like if it were you're kid. The kid goes out and does something? You are liable. Blaming it on the spouse has nothing to do with it. You want the responsibility then you have to abide by the laws. And yes. You can get sued for the accident too. It was your car. Unless you can prove that it was stolen or something like that then it is your fault for not having the coverage and now it is your bill. sorry. I live NJ but for the most part all the state's laws are kind of the same. Driving is a priveledge. Not a right. If you can't handle it, it can be taken away. Sorry though.
Not knowing the situation the only thing I could think was that you and the spouse aren't together. If the courts said that he had to keep the insurances and stuff on the car up to date then and only then would you maybe be able to get out of it in court. But if you are both together and there is nothing in writing as far as a court order then you're sunk.

Answer 4

Yes. This is why you don't let friends (spouses) that are not insured drive your vehicle for any reason at any time.
Sounds to me as if the person in the accident must have fled the scene. Otherwise, they would have been ticketed or jailed for the accident, however the damages to the other party and their car will be your problem because the car is in your name. You would have to sue you spouse to recover.

Answer 5

Ain't America great? The land of litigation! Sue first, ask questions later. Amazing that you all call yourself the Greatest Nation in the World, and all the while, you look for ways to screw your neighbour out of money. And if that doesn't work, you can always shoot them with your gun(s). And the rest of the world justs looks on and shakes their collective heads...

America is a legend in its own mind...

Answer 6

make sure you tell the jury you own the car, allowed somebody else to drive it and didnt know there wasn't any insurance. on many occasions i have argued and won the ''head up the butt'' defense. but then again i am good and i am hot.....i charge $225 per hour prep and $400 per hour trial.

Answer 7

yes because it was your vehicle