Punks trespass, property damage, cops want help getting abandoned jeep, need advice

[Lineman North Florida]

i wouldn't touch the jeep. i can't imagine the number of things that i would want to be explicitly indemnified against before doing that.

i would make certain that the property is posted for trespassing, put a few trail cams in the area covering the vehicle and any likely ingress/egress routes, and immediately report any trespassers that take interest in the thing.

in the meanwhile, document EVERYTHING with plenty of photos and text and get working with the jeep owner's insurer (if he has one) to recover for your losses. i don't see a reason to get any lawyers involved yet, provided that the vehicle is insured.

please keep us updated. interesting story.


one of my neighbors has a 1000 (?) gallon propane tank in his woods that floated there from another neighbor's lot when the lot flooded and the tank broke loose. property owner denied the tank owner access to retrieve the tank and tank is still out there - probably been 3 or 4 years.

Don't sound like he is being much of a good neighbor, unless there is some bad blood from the past, meaning your neighbor that won't let the other neighbor retrieve his propane tank.

 

[RSKY]

Somebody having a medical condition and wrecking or somebody slipping off a slick road and thru a fence is one thing but whoever was driving the jeep deserves no sympathy. Stick it to them any way you can.

 

[ruffdog]

It seems this 21 year old has been quite busy in his short driving career. Yes, there is logic why he would be running and getting rid of the beer. Also, time will tell if he really has any insurance.

 

[ultrarunner]

We had damage from a negligent driver 12 years ago...

The Insurance company dragged their feet and we had a $2500 deductible.

Paid a lawyer acquaintance $250 to draft the documents to sue in Superior Court and I filed... without a lawyer... boy did that get everyone's attention... the day before we were set to go to trail they paid in full...

Don't like it... but, sometimes it is too easy to be ignored.

 

[Sprinklerman]

I was 21 once ................ I knew everything ................ then after a few , ok more than a few stupid and expensive things I decided to grow up .

 

[DABSGT]

First I would hope the registered owner of the jeep had insurance, even if not, that's who would be responsible for damage to your property. Being how far into your property the jeep ended up I would agree with the police request for you to help with the removal, I would expect that you know your property better than a tow operator would thus less damage to your property. I don't know of many tow operators who would intentionally damage your property. I would ask the officer to document the damage to the jeep if you chose to help am sure they will be standing by wile it is removed. Look you are a victim due to damage caused by some knuckle head. But no matter what damage is caused removing the vehicle liability still belongs to the operator/registered owner.

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[DABSGT]

Yes they could but whomever the police send out might do even more damage because they don't care. I had a friend where that very thing happened and the town told them tough when they wanted compensation.

Liability is on the person who caused the damage not the town.

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[smstonypoint]

Out of curiosity I Googled "does auto liability insurance cover the owner if used in a crime" and found this:

Your car insurance company will pay damages owed if, by way of your vehicle, you are responsible for causing property damage to property or bodily injury to another person unless you were engaged in malicious, evil or particularly fraudulent acts.

Your auto insurer will not defend you in criminal court and will not pay for damages you cause while engaged in criminal conduct.


https://insurance.freeadvice.com/information/auto/article/110

Steve

 

[downsizingnow48]

Yep. Insurance policies don't pay off for criminal and negligent actions. So this is probably between you and the vehicle owner. Best to find out what rules the state of Wisconsin and your municipality might have on disposition of abandoned vehicles on private property. I am sure there is a right way and a wrong way to handle it, depends on what your local statutes say.

 

[hosspuller]

Out of curiosity I Googled "does auto liability insurance cover the owner if used in a crime" and found this:

Steve

Seems the answer then becomes . " Cui bono ?" Latin for "to whose benefit?", The lien holder may be willing to pay to retrieve their loan collateral.

Ruffdog ... Please keep us informed as the events develop.