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Hit and Run

ctwo

ctwo

Merely Rhetorical
Joined
Feb 5, 2015
Location
auf der motobahn
Moto(s)
motato
Name
Heyou
There is a small apartment next to house with a parking area in back. Someone there crashed into the side of my garage and left. Unincorporated San Jose and Sherriff said to call CHP, who will not respond because they are closed? Said I have to file a report in person on Tues. Now I get to have some fun.:mad
 
The side wall of the garage is pretty busted up, a few of the 2x4 are buckled and knocked off the foundation, and the wall is shiplap planks on the outside only, and also buckled about 4 feet up in a couple places. It's pretty thin construction.

My insurance says they will send out an independent adjuster to assess. I will have to pay the $2k deductible, and coverage stops at $30k. This is a 12x20 detached garage.

Other than the driver, who nobody saw, could the property owners be liable for the damages? The apartment manager emailed me back simply asking if I knew who did it. I think he's just going to say it's not his problem if I can't prove it was one of the tennants. I believe the owners are out of state.

Another thing I'm concerned about is that if permits are required and the county red tags the structure, they would not let me rebuild it the same because it's literally 6 inches from the fence. I think I'd have to move it in 5 feet and that would put it right in the middle of the narrow lot.
 
You don't own the structure
You didn't cause the damage
You are not responsible for the repairs
You should start learning some tenant law to protect yourself.
 
I read the OP differently.
It sounds like he does own the garage. He is the property owner...of the garage. He wants the apartment to step-up.
 
If it did enough damage to buckle 2x4s, maybe it dinged up the vehicle that did it, too. What about some forensic sleuthing on your part?

First look for paint or scuff marks on your garage.

If the paint on your garage is scuffed, maybe some of it rubbed off onto the vehicle. If there’s a different color paint or black marks on your garage, the vehicle that made them should bear some sort of scarring/evidence of the hit.

If there’s no marks on your garage, the vehicle that did it might still show some damage or evidence of having made the contact. So some discreet looking around at vehicles in that apartment complex might be worth doing. Even better if it’s with the full support of the apartment manager.
 
Yes, I'm the owner of the damaged property. My garage is behind my house right next to the apartment fence and their parking area. They have dumpsters there, heavy duty plastic. Those are what got pushed through the fence and into my garage side wall. Those dumpsters do not bear any sign of damage other than normal dumpster wear. There were no cars in the apt carport when I was there.

It was very difficult to get CHP to at least take a report, and of course bluntly said they would not investigate.

Some thumbnails.
 

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How do those dumpsters get emptied? I'd probably be knocking at the door of the garbage company with a claim for damages if the truck drives back there to get the bins.
 
I worked at a furniture store on West San Carlos back in the 80s while going to school and someone blew a turn and ran into the side of the building sending furniture flying.
 
OK, got the story now.
Unless you can prove that the apartment manager or apartment owners were negligent and this negligence allowed the damage to occur, they are not responsible to repair the damage.
 
dravnx said:
OK, got the story now.
Unless you can prove that the apartment manager or apartment owners were negligent and this negligence allowed the damage to occur, they are not responsible to repair the damage.
Click to expand...

I've been thinking about this. If I have a trampoline in my backyard and one day it's all of a sudden planted in my neighbor's yard or through their roof...

I have no idea how those dumpsters plowed through my garage wall, but there they were...

The insurance is quoting replacing the original 70+ year old redwood siding with pine. That won't last 5 years... I'm becoming inclined to repair myself but want to ensure I get paid. Seems some savvy navigation is required... I'm not qualified for this.
 
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