Expert: Ron Cercone - 8/27/2009

Question
My mom just received a letter suspending her license because of a judgement against her by an insurance company.  The insurance company is saying that our insurance at the time of the accident witch was in 2001 never paid the damages. Problem is that the insurance company we had a policy with in 2001 went out of business so we can't provide our proof of insurance at the time of accident. Further more my mom wasn't in the car nor did she know the car was missing from the garage till we got the call about the accident. The person who was driving my ex now thank God is a delinquent and has always had problems with the law. My mom has never even had a ticket or any problems with the law. They are trying to make my mom pay $5.597 for the damages that he caused.  My family is going through a hard time financially and we can't afford a lawyer or to pay this claim. What should we do?

Answer
1. If you are talking about a court judgment, your mom must have known she was being sued for the damages. A court can't grant a judgment if the party being sued (your mom) was not properly served with notice of the lawsuit long before a trial date. If your mom just ignored the papers, then she lost her chance to tell a judge that the car was "stolen" or taken without her permission. She may be able to file an appeal, but the time to do that may only be 10 days or 30 days after the judgment? Call the court clerk or the small claims "free lawyer". Hopefully it's small claims court.

2. As to the license suspension, I would say go to your local state DMV office and talk to a supervisor and explain your situation. I did not know ones drivers license could be revoked just because a court judgment for money was awarded against one.

3. If there is no court judgment, your mom needs to explain to the insurance company that the car was taken without her permission. She may also need to file a police report.