My friend broke my jeep. What can I do?
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My friend broke my jeep. What can I do?
So I let my friend use my jeep to go back and
forth to work, before I left I told him to
not go offroading in it or tear it up and it
better be in the same condition I gave it to
him when I got back from leave from the
military, when I got back I found it sitting
on base, with the engine and transmission
blown. He says he took it to a shop and there
the ones who messed it up but cannot tell me
the name of the shop that messed it up. I
talked to his friends and they all told me he
took it mudding the day I left and sank it in
a mud hole and sacked water into the engine.
I made him tow it to a jeep dealership and
they told me it would be 10,000 to fix it as
long as nothing else is messed up. He agreed
to fix the jeep but when he found out that it
was going to be 10k to fix it, now he tells
me he can’t fix it. It’s my only vehicle and
I’ve only had it for 2 months and and making
Payments on it. I have at least 10 people
willing to sign an affidavit saying he broke
it. What should I do? Can I make him pay for
it?
Asked on September 14, 2016 under Accident Law, Virginia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
You can sue him for the cost to repair the vehicle. When someone damages another's property through negligence (carelessness) or a deliberate wrongful act, they are liable (or financially responsible) for the cost of the damage they did. In the lawsuit, you'd need your witnesses to testify in court (they can't provide affidavits; they have to testify under the rules of evidence) as to what he did and how he damaged it.
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