Property

What happens if someone sues you for causing property damage to their property? Remember, the basic rule is that the plaintiff must prove you did something wrong, and that what you did wrong actually caused the harm to plaintiff.

For example, assume you left your car running while you ran into the store, and a person stole your car and drove it for ninety miles, sideswiping three cars, including the plaintiff's. If the plaintiff sues you, he must prove that your actions, leaving the car running, caused damaged to his car. Of course, if you hadn't left the car running, it would not have been stolen and there would not have been cars sideswiped; however, your actions did not actually cause your car to sideswipe the plaintiff's car ninety miles away.

Certain states have varying degrees of the extent to which the defendant can be considered to have caused the damage in this incident, but most will free the defendant from blame in the above case. Thus, understand that if you are accused of causing damage, attack the plaintiff's claim that you did cause the damage and be prepared to prove it.

In the above instance, you may have had to go ninety miles away and get a letter from the attorney who was prosecuting the thief to prove that you were not driving the car and to prove that it was stolen. Do it for your defense.

Also, you may consider attacking the plaintiff's version of a property damage claim. Take each element and introduce evidence that the damages were not caused by you. Witnesses might help your case. For example, eye witnesses in a car accident case, or even an accident reconstructionist might help to prove the plaintiff's version of the damage did not occur.

Finally, you might also try to prove that the damage was also, or in large part, caused by the plaintiff. This is form of contributory or comparative negligence. Regardless of the legal terminology, you should attempt to bring proof to the court that the damage was already existing, or that the plaintiff's actions caused the damage to be greater than it would have been otherwise. For example, if you accidently run your shopping cart along the plaintiff's car. She sees you, and grabs the cart to pull it away from the paint on her car, but in doing so, the cart falls against her car and dents it substantially. She may be responsible for some of the damage, and you may not have to pay for the entire amount.

The best defense is always to outline each element of the plaintiff's case, and then ask yourself what proof the plaintiff has on each element, and what proof you can introduce or bring to court to disprove the plaintiff's version.

Remember that all of this information is general in nature and is not designed to consider every possible set of facts imaginable. This discussion simply reviews the most common areas of concern that are overlooked or misunderstood when bringing lawsuits.

Points to Remember

• The plaintiff must prove that you did something wrong, and that what you did wrong actually caused harm to the plaintiff.
• Attack the plaintiff's claim that you caused the damage.
• Prove that the damage was also or in large part caused by the plaintiff.