Sueing someone who potentially has nothing

[reaLst]

I was in a car accident a couple years back, on highway 101 southbound at around 1:30AM before Chavez Street exit aka "Hospital Curve." Without going into too much details, my mom ended up with a piece of her scalp missing, and me without the ability to write - to this day.

Three cars were involved, including ours. Our car is the only car declared as "not at fault."

We have funds from the first car's insurance company, and I'm being payed over time.

Just yesterday, I went to a default hearing against the second car. We obviously won by default.

The problem with the second car is that the person may not have a job, assets, or even insurance.


Now the settlement is pretty hefty from both parties, but assuming the second car has nothing, what happens then?

oh and ironically, the first car with insurance was a 92' Acura Integra. The car with presumably nothing is a '02 BMW 328i. :wtf

[T-1 Thunder]

Shit out of luck, man. Unless he wins lotto or something.
This is what underinsured/uninsured coverage is for.

[beaker]

The problem with the second car is that the person may not have a job, assets, or even insurance.

I would not expect much if the party has nothing, basically.

Tips for Collecting Your Judgment (from nolo.com)

Don't start too soon.
Ask for your money.
Put the burden on the debtor.
Start with easy-to-reach assets.
Don't harass the debtor.
Consider settling for less.
Pay attention to timing.
Keep tabs on the debtor.
Consider hiring an expert, if necessary.
Know when to give up.

[masameet]

I'm surprised that Nolo.com didn't say anything about renewing court judgments. For renewing California court judgments, look here (http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/smallclaims/collectintro.htm).

[reaLst]

I'm surprised that Nolo.com didn't say anything about renewing court judgments. For renewing California court judgments, look here (http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/smallclaims/collectintro.htm).

Sorry, I guess I should have given more details. My lawyer is working on finding out exactly what this person (the second car) has. This is no small claims matter.

[beaker]

Sorry, I guess I should have given more details. My lawyer is working on finding out exactly what this person (the second car) has. This is no small claims matter.

If you have legal counsel, you should be consulting with him/her/it.

[RolnCode3]

Can't you attach against future earnings? I don't ever deal with civil stuff, so don't know much about it.

[motorman4life]

This is what uninsured/underinsured coverage is for. If you didn't have the coverage, you should get it.. learn from your mistake.

[reaLst]

If you have legal counsel, you should be consulting with him/her/it.

I do, and we are waiting on what he finds out. I just wanted some extra opinions from the BARF community, you smart bastards. :teeth

This is what uninsured/underinsured coverage is for. If you didn't have the coverage, you should get it.. learn from your mistake.

We do have uninsured/underinsured. The problem is, our limit was 300k at the time. We were awarded well over 300k against the second car. Way more than than double that, actually. We have since raised our limits to 1M.

[beaker]

We do have uninsured/underinsured. The problem is, our limit was 300k at the time. We were awarded well over 300k against the second car. Way more than than double that, actually. We have since raised our limits to 1M.

I'm sorry that the accident messed you and your mom up. But if you've got a default judgement, $300k of UI coverage, and a lawyer, you've done all you can. You should be working on your insurer to get paid out on the claim and continue to recover from the accident.

If you're really trying to stick it to the party driving the 2nd car, with knowledge that the person doesn't have a lot of assets, you are facing another long battle that may yield very little but more frustration and a larger legal bill.