Rear ended by a lawnmower.....

Yeah, it sure does...

It's a damn shame the BS judgement you are considering taking can't even be "taken" yet. Is it going to be a year before they cut a check?

It is a judgment. His decision is whether to appeal it or not. If he appeals, it goes to the superior court and lawyers can get involved. He would still be limited to $7,500 max.


When I was a young lawyer, we would look for people who wanted small claims appeals done to get court/trial experience. I probably did 100 of them in my first couple of years out of law school, most for free or not much money, just to get good experience.

So what was the win/loss ratio of those?

Pasta,
For what it's worth...I've always been a person that was high on principles. As you are too, that would suggest you appeal.

But I have learned over a lifetime that following through on your principles, digging in for the long haul, takes some of your life away. Hassle, worry, effort all takes its toll.

Thus, if I could suggest my wisdom in this case, take the 5k and call it a day. Know that you did get a judgment and leave this hassle and try to let it go.

Good luck to you and yours, that's just how city hall works and be glad to be done with it.
KJ

This has probably been state previously but I suggest you rear end a city lawnmower. You will at the minimum feel some sense of justice and at the most be able to make a comparative assessment of the claim against you or your insurance company.

30 days max. After that the judgement is final, and can be collected, with costs borne by the defendant. Seizing assets, having a sheriff do a till check at the parking ticket office, etc.

and

From the Los Angeles Superior Court Small Claims web site.

I'm not sure I'd want to go back to the same judge and ask him to reconsider - you might just piss him off and get a lower amount. As much as I think you deserve more money, I think you better take the money and run.

jdg

most likely I will take what i can get here and just move on. Its not worth my time for sure - and if I didnt get more than $3500 now, Im certainly not going to get more later.
This will be enough money for me to fix the GS to its once former glory and maybe have a little extra with which to put in the savings.
At the end of the day, I didn't get hurt, the bike escaped with less damage than I thought it would, and I (we will see...) am able to repair the bike. After considering all of those things, I have agree that normally in life you don't get off as easy.... and that's just life.
So, in many ways (once I get the check) this will be a victory but just not as much of a decisive victory as I would have liked.

Let's just hope that the big kharma wheel slowly turns and Mayor Villarregosa get's rear ended by an illegal alien while waiting at a red light in the city limo.

How is that gonna help... We, the legal tax payers, are going to be the ones paying for it

Good point! My bad... lets hope that His Honor steps OUT of the city limo and then is hit by the unlicensed and uninsured driver.

What's the chance of finding one of those in LA

Which begs the question, did you ever see the drivers license of the inDUHvidual piloting the lawnmower??

just ask'n.

im sure the guy had to be legit.... I would like to think so.... but then again who knows. I wonder what happened after this all went down on his end

My buddy just texted me to look up "Illegal Everything" - I'm halfway through it, and it reminds me of eatpasta's experience with that local government, and the eventual wearing-down of anyone who goes against such an entity.

I'm no Fox News android (I refuse to watch it, or most other mainstream news media shows), but this seems really good:

<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CFfVeXhtRa0" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>

Seriously!!

Why didn't you just claim it on your own full coverage insurance? They could have dealt with the gov't. No headaches.

Or didn't you have coverage?

thanks for posting that - it was horrifying......

Full coverage insurance on a motorcycle like a BMW is well over $1000 a month - so no I dont have full coverage for it. I called my insurance company and they pretty much said, "Well have fun with that"

$1000/mo for you, maybe. Your driving record must be horrendous.

Full coverage on my 06 GSA is about $40/month.

you got screwed.

same thing happened to my friends that didn't get lawyers for motorcycle accidents.

even if you pay a lawyer 33% of any settlement, you would have had more than 3,500 in your pocket cuz they know the laws and the ins and outs of those laws.
and i honestly feel judges take these more seriously when a lawyer is standing in front of them.



at this point, take the money and run. you at least got something.