Getting evicted over a fully insured car accident

[dondeal]

Hello WorldLaw. I found this forum through google.

Just to start, I want to say that I'm looking for as many opinions as possible and I have consulted with several attorneys but I haven't hired anyone yet but I will once I am served with a summons. I feel that I should know what my attorney should be doing and not him/her telling me what they will be doing since I'm the one paying.

I will try not to go into exact details, just in case, the opposite party stumbles upon my thread. This is a Georgia Issue. I am a fully insured motorist with property coverage.

Here goes ....

I was in an accident 3 months ago. I did some minor damage to a wooden pole. Police report filed by management and I personally handed them my insurance info and I even updated the police report with my insurance info through the responding officer. They've accepted 2 rent checks since the accident. Come middle of June I receive a letter stating that they were unable to recoup their damages from my insurance and I am liable for their invoice and I have 2 weeks to pay or they won't accept my July Rent(I also received the invoice as well).

Ok, I'm shocked! I've heard nothing from them and they always speak to me when they see me. I thought this was taken care of and I left it to my claims adjuster since that is her job. I pay my insurance on-time and that gives me the peace of mind over stuff like this.

I immediately ring my claims adjuster and she says that they filed a claim months ago and provided accident photos, but the photos do not warrant the amount that they are seeking. My claims adjuster asked them to provide more photos to substantiate their claim. They did not provide any more photos, she mentioned. She said the claim is still open and their waiting on the photos.

Remember the wooden pole I hit? I priced it at
Home Depot and it came up to $22. This pole was the only damage! Their invoice is for 5k to 6k over a reasonable amount. It's downright ridiculous and insurance fraud.

They gave me a two week notice to pay their invoice in full, personally. I immediately, the next day, sent a certified letter asking them why haven't they provided more photos and I asked them to point out which paragraph(s) am I in breach of my lease over since they won't accept my rent in two weeks. They sent me another letter pointing out a couple lines but these lines didn't have anything to do with me breaching my lease and giving them grounds to evict me. (It does say that all residents should be insured at all times. Well, I certainly never miss my insurance payments.)

I frantically called around for attorneys getting consultations since I'm the one being left out to dry by my insurance here, because they've offered no urgency or instance with this two-week notice, and the management company is expecting me to pay their bogus invoice out of pocket. I refused to do so. Basically, the attorneys I spoke with told me to get it in writing that they won't accept my rent and give them a call back once I'm served.(I will be doing this soon.)

Flash forward, present day, and the two weeks have come and gone. I go into the office to pay my rent, manager calls corporate and the vice president, on speaker phone, said don't give them anything in writing and don't accept their rent. "GIVE THEM NOTHING!" he firmly stated. I say Fine and walk out. I went to the post office and sent the check certified with Signature Return Requested and it should make it there before rent is late.

It's important that I have something to show that I tried to pay these people and they outright refused.... And this is where I'm at. I do want to sue if I'm evicted, which is highly probable. I own a business and it will be effected by the court costs, court appearances, moving, and stress from their fraud insurance claim.

Any tips or ideas with my given situation? It's really hard and tiring to make attorney after attorney see this through my eyes. I want to sue if I'm evicted. I would hate to see this happen to any current or future residents(Obscene insurance profiting off honest accidents.) You think they'll want to keep me on board and continue paying them rent, but I guess the 5k to 6k extra in bilking my insurance is more profitable.

[Sorry for the extremly long post, but it's important that you guys see where I'm coming from. I'm not another tenant that just skips rent payments or any bills whenever I so desire. I'm a hard working self-employed American that's getting screwed.]

OK. Let's start with the first point. I am not an attorney. But I can't imagine that your comment would be a good starting point with any attorney.

"I feel that I should know what my attorney should be doing and not him/her telling me what they will be doing since I'm the one paying." Its fine to know what your attorney is doing. But you aren't the one who knows the law statutes. You aren't the expert in that field. The attorney knows what he/she can and can't do, how the other attorney will respond, and how a judge will likely rule. You need to take their advice, not give it to them. They know more than you in that respect. You can tell them what you would like, but clients' expectations aren't always realistic. Be prepared to hear the legal side of the argument with open mind/ears. Shopping for an attorney on the basis of who will agree with you isn't a good idea. That will only get you one who will accept your fees knowing that they may have zero chance of winning. Look for a knowledgeable attorney in this field based on recommendations from others who have gone through this. When you first speak to one, ask how many negotiations they have been in over insurance claims and evictions. Try to find someone who has experience in both insurance problems and with evictions. Then listen to him/her.

That said, you don't appear to have asked for a detailed estimate of damages from the manager/property owner. Why not? That should be the first starting point in this battle. You need an estimate so you an dispute the individual charges. How can you dispute a blank charge of $5k without knowing exactly what it is for? For instance, what was the purpose of this pole (hold a sign, phone/cable wires, block traffic from an area, etc.). A special type/size pole may be needed, or city code may require a different type if this one was ever replaced. (It may not meet current standards, but had been grandfathered under an old ordinance.) Was there any utility connected to it? Does that utility have to be disconnected & re-connected? (Commercial electricians aren't cheap.) Was there any damage to underground structures? (Utilities buried may have been compromised or will be compromised if the pole is removed.) Was there damage to pavement, foundations, landscaping, barriers, etc? (Paving may need to be done to the area, foundations fixed, landscaping replanted, concrete barriers replaced.) Sometimes it is not as easy to just replace something as you may think. A detailed estimate would give you more information on their thought process and why they think it would cost so much. It would also let you see where they are padding the charges. You could obtain estimates based on their detailed information from other contractors (they would have to be licensed for commercial work) so you could compare.

Next, what is the deductible for your insurance? Every policy has one. Have you paid the deductible to the management company? You would be responsible for that amount because the insurance company would not cover this. Contact the insurance company and see if they have detailed estimates and ask about how much you need to pay for your deductible. It is common for an insurance company and the damaged party to haggle for a while over an amount, but you need to pay your deductible to management regardless of what amount they ultimately pay.

You owe money to the complex. You haven't paid. It doesn't have to be in your lease to say if you don't pay your bills to someone that they will no longer deal with you. It's only common sense. They have issued you a Pay or Quit notice and you failed to honor it. Your response was to challenge it instead of working with management on arriving on a payment schedule, a negotiation of the claim, or to encourage them to send more information to your insurance company. (You only asked why they hadn't done it already.) A Pay or Quit notice means you haven't paid money owed to the complex. It is a correct step. If you ignore it, they can and should refuse payment from you (your rent check will probably be returned to you since most states will not allow management to accept rent prior to an eviction). You cannot pay future rents when you still owe outstanding debts. (Could you pay next month's car payment if you haven't paid this month's?) This is the same step any complex would use if someone damaged an appliance, a unit, the pole, or owed a utility bill.

I strongly suggest you cooperate with management and encourage them to send more photos and a detailed estimate to the insurance company. Then the two of them can negotiate a settlement, leaving you owing only the deductible. A cooperative attitude will get you much better results and allow you to stay in your unit through the negotiations of the damages. Try going to the office and discussing it nicely. Give them a check for your deductible and show that you are willing to work with them and the insurance company. Don't just leave this to management and the bureaucracy of an insurance company. That will only leave you between a rock and a hard place.

[dondeal]

Wow, the one thing I tried to prevent is someone jumping in here and stating why haven't you done this and done that.

If you would have read what I wrote I mentioned that the notice that they initially sent me had the invoice attached. The invoice was detailed so there was no need no ask for a second invoice. They charged for outrageous amounts for landscaping and the actual pole that was damaged. The only thing that was repaired was the pole. The invoice, which is detailed, is downright ridiculous! Did you catch that part?...

The wooden pole is part of a free standing cabana and the cabana did not collapse. The pole was only cracked. No wires are connected or even close.

My car was damaged and inoperable and was in the repair shop. My deductible for this entire incident has been paid and my car is now restored. Pay my deductible to the management company?No, the entire claim is paid for on my end, coming from the mouth of my adjuster. The entire incident is paid for on my end and all the have to do is provide the additional photos has requested by my insurance claims adjuster.

If my insurance asks them for additional photos and they are unable to provide them because their invoice is fraudulently bloated and they catch a hissy fit and come after me, all of this is all my fault now? You sound like a landlord unregistered poster.

So who goes on to say that they aren't trying to double collect on me and my insurance? Their lease says all autos should maintain insurance. I did. They ask for my insurance info. I provided. They filed a claim. Insurance asked for more photos. They catched a hissy fit because the invoice is bogus and they aren't able to provide the photos to calify their bogus invoice. They come after me for the invoice and give me two weeks to pay or else. Whatever unregistered poster, your definitely a landlord.

I would take these comments and consider them closely

I have been both a landlord and before that a tenant for years and frankly there are some interesting points above, and the time involved responding to you seems substantial. I won't get into the merits of your situation but i am sure others will.

Your claim is NOT paid in full from your end. Only your car claim portion is settled. The property damage claim is still outstanding. You have been made whole, but the "victim" has not. You paid the deductible on your car, but what has been paid towards the damages you caused? Nothing. You need to get the insurance company and the management to settle this claim, or you will owe the entire amount yourself. (Nothing personal, but no one cares about your car. You did that damage to it yourself. It was your fault and responsibility. You are not the innocent, injured party here. The complex is. That is how it will appear in court. You will be portrayed as someone who will do nothing to settle the claim and plan to leave it all up to some bureaucracy of an insurance company. That defense won't work in court. It is you that is ultimately responsible for this. If you can get the insurance company to pay, great. Otherwise the burden falls on YOU. You obviously have not dealt with insurance companies much.)

If you have a detailed invoice, it is up to you to prove that the costs quoted there are not in line with other contractor's estimates. Get contractors out there to give you estimates on the landscaping (the property must be returned whole, in the same condition as it was, so they need to quote you prices on mature plants - not starter plants.) Get at least 3 estimates and submit them to management and your insurance company. You need to challenge their price.

You may feel this is not your responsibility, but it is. The insurance company will not go to bat for you to lower the claim. They will only deny it outright. You need to do the legwork, or pay the full bill yourself. Isn't it worth some work to save yourself this money? If you don't, plan on having a lawsuit filed against YOU, not the insurance company. It is your fault, not theirs. Then you will still have the burden of proof to show the costs are too high in court. And you will still have to fight with your insurance company to pay it.

This happens with insurance companies all the time. And not just with auto insurance claims, but with medical insurance, dental work, and workers disability claims. You need to be the advocate for yourself. If you think that your insurance company is going to worry about not paying this claim, you are dead wrong. They just saved themselves the money by denying the claim. They won't go out of their way to settle this themselves because if they do, they have to pay it. This is a lesson to learn here. Your insurance company is only as good as you make it be. Force them and the management to come to a negotiated price by taking responsibility to do the legwork. Or face the court, because the chance of the management filing against the insurance company and thier big attorneys are slim to none. They will only file against you and state in court that your insurance company turned down the claim, leaving you owing the bill. Your choice.

[dondeal]

Just an example. If I was in an accident and it was my fault on the road...it's my responsibility to get fair quotes for my vehicle and the victimized party? That's absurd. You leave that up to the insurance that you pay for every month and if a lawsuit is brought up against you because your insurance didn't reasonable pay for the other guy's car then you sue your insurance..point blank. So basically in my situation if my insurance is stalling and hanging me out to dry then they will get sued by me.

They didn't deny their claim. It's still pending, whenever they submit their additional photos. They caught a fit because they had none and sent me the supposedly pay or quit.

They can sue for the balance all they want, but a judge will decide rather the charges were reasonable or over the top and justified enough to evict a tenant. I'm not a regular 9 to 5 tenant so simply bringing suit for this balance will not be a pushover either.

Anyways, for situations like this, this is why we have a judicial system. I'll have my day in court against this complex and my insurance.

Thanks for your thoughts anyways.

Sounds like you need to plan for 2 lawsuits then. Actually 3. One for eviction, one for the damages brought by the apartment complex, and one you file against your insurance company. Have fun with those! And don't forget to get a good attorney who works cheaply. Ooops, I forgot, you can't use one in small claims court where they will file for the damages.

It would be a lot easier to just get a couple of estimates yourself. You haven't had many dealings with insurance companies, have you? I used to work for one. If you're with one of those large national companies, it will be a long time before this is over.