Can a plaintiff and her lawyer go after me financially on the upcoming lawsuit in Canada/USA?

[Samantha33]

My husband and I have been separated for more than a year. He had a small car accident 23 months ago. My husband is the only registered owner of the car involved in the accident. His car and my car are insured under our same policy. I’ve recently received papers for a lawsuit for body injuries resulting from my husband’s accident and in these papers I am also pointed as a “defendant” and “co-owner” of the car involved (my husband’s car). That means the lawsuit is against both of us.
My husband has been unreachable for months and my guess is that this is the reason they decided to come after me.
I called my insurance company and the casualty claims advisor told me: “The Insurance lawyer will prepare a defense statement and will represent you in court … FOR NOW ! “
This “for now” scared me because it sounds like they will help me at some degree and then … leave me to the sharks to take my house and my savings.
How much should I worry about this? Any advice from similar past experiences?

[adjusterjack]

No one is coming after you out of malice. It's standard procedure to sue both owners of the vehicle. I can't tell you, yet, if you have anything to worry about. Not enough information. If you can go into this more deeply I can comment further.

1- What was the exact date of the accident?
2 - What state are you located in?
3 - What state is your husband located in?
4 - What are the Bodily Injury limits on your policy? Don't answer from memory. Look at the policy. You have it or can get it from your agent.
5 - Under the message box here is "upload attachments." Scan the complaint and upload a copy for me to review. Redact any identifying information. Presumably you have already forwarded a copy to the claims department.

You probably have your reasons, but it's damned foolish to stay married and just separated. If the marriage is over, get divorced or more problems are going to hit you as long as you stay married.

[Guest]

The lawyer cannot easily drop from the case once he has started representing you in the active court case.
He would need the permission of the judge.
So unless there is something unusual in the policy or the facts of the case, it is likely they will handle it until the end if they agree to start the representation in the litigation.
If they do not for some odd reason, you would have a right to object, and to be given substantial time to arrange new counsel.
I faced a very similar situation a few years back.

TM

[Samantha33]

No one is coming after you out of malice. It's standard procedure to sue both owners of the vehicle ...

The vehicle that hit slightly the other car is 100% owned from my husband. He is the only one who drives that car. The other driver called for a police officer and my husband wrote an accident report at the spot . I have another car that I drive and both 2 cars are under our car insurance policy. I cannot write it more clearly then this .

I don't think I should be put as a defendant with my husband on these papers they served me, but I need your opinions to be 100% sure there is no danger for my assets.


1. Accident - November 29,2019
2. Ontario, Canada
3. I don't know
4. 1 000 000 $

[adjusterjack]

That you shouldn't be a defendant doesn't mean you can't be a defendant. You haven't attached the complaint so I don't know how much you are being sued for or what the injury is.

But with 1,000,000 in coverage I seriously doubt that you have anything to be concerned about.

[Samantha33]

The bodily injury is for 106 000$ . I remember my husband told me the hit was slight and the other driver jumped right away from her car to take photos of the cars(she didn't look injured at all) and called the police. I think she is a gold digger and now states she cannot work any more and writes the following 10 medical problems - please see the attachment.

[adjusterjack]

It's all soft tissue aches and pains. Subjective - meaning that any medical records will just be a record of what she tells the doctors. There will be little or no real medical evidence to support the injuries claimed. Lawyers who take those kinds of cases are generally looking for a quick payday and want to avoid trial. I expect that there will be a settlement before it ever gets to trial.

That there hasn't been a settlement in almost two years is a little disturbing but it's possible that the claim rep offered the few thousand that the claim is probably worth. Has there been any offers? Can you find out how much? Not really relevant to our discussion.

With $1,000,000 coverage you don't have to worry about anybody coming after your property.

Where this is likely to hurt you is on your insurance rates. The claim goes against your policy that your name is still on. It's an at fault accident against the policy. It'll come up under your name once the claim is finalized.

I strongly suggest that you get your name and your car off that policy and get your own insurance. It'll cost you more for a few years but it's time you became independent from somebody you apparently don't want to be married to. Get a divorce while you are at it.

[Samantha33]

Thanks Adjusterjack ! Looks like you are the only member in this forum or the only one who is willing to help me.

That there hasn't been a settlement in almost two years is a little disturbing but it's possible that the claim rep offered the few thousand that the claim is probably worth.

In what way it is a little disturbing? Right away after the accident the claim rep told my husband the insurance will offer the other driver 5000$ and can even go to 10000$ so she is happy and doesn't go for a lawsuit. I guess she turned down this offer and as a gold digger now is aiming at 106 000$.

Has there been any offers? Can you find out how much? Not really relevant to our discussion.

A couple of days ago I received the following e-mail from my claim rep : " ... I have a waiver of defence from plaintiff counsel. We will not be filing a statement of defence. At this point I have to wait to get a proposal from plaintiff counsel and then settle."
Do you think they will let me know how much money they agreed to for this bodily claim?!? Did he write the word "defence" right or it should be "defense" ?

I strongly suggest that you get your name and your car off that policy and get your own insurance.

Do you mean right away or when it is time to renew my car insurance next year? The current car insurance is already paid untill August next year and I love my rate.

It'll cost you more for a few years but it's time you became independent from somebody you apparently don't want to be married to. Get a divorce while you are at it

Can you roughly guess how much more my car insurance will go up? 200% 250% or only 60% more ? Yes , it is time to become independent . Do you think a divorce before the next car insurance renewal will help for my insurance rates?

Where this is likely to hurt you is on your insurance rates. The claim goes against your policy that your name is still on. It's an at fault accident against the policy. It'll come up under your name once the claim is finalized.

The car insurance shows both my husband's and my names! Why should it come up on my name?
Sorry but I just can NOT believe this. Where is the point to be punished with higher rates when start shopping for my personal car insurance next year because of an accident I DIDN"T do and even the car causing the accident WASN"T mine ?!? I always thought insurance companies are asking higher rates the bad drivers and lower rates to the good ones?!? Or todays insurance companies say " We punish the good drivers with higher rates too if they used to have sex with bad drivers in the past ! " 😲

[adjusterjack]

Looks like you are the only member in this forum

Sometimes I wonder about that myself.

or the only one who is willing to help me.

Likely the only one with insurance background (35 years).

In what way it is a little disturbing? Right away after the accident the claim rep told my husband the insurance will offer the other driver 5000$ and can even go to 10000$ so she is happy and doesn't go for a lawsuit. I guess she turned down this offer and as a gold digger now is aiming at 106 000$.

That's what I thought. Not disturbing anymore.

A couple of days ago I received the following e-mail from my claim rep : " ... I have a waiver of defence from plaintiff counsel. We will not be filing a statement of defence. At this point I have to wait to get a proposal from plaintiff counsel and then settle." Do you think they will let me know how much money they agreed to for this bodily claim?!?

I can't imagine why not. I would. Wouldn't hurt to follow up with the claim rep at 60 day intervals. This kind of claim doesn't move very fast.

Did he write the word "defence" right or it should be "defense" ?

"Defence" is common in the UK while "defense" is the US version. Both are correct. Maybe he's British. Maybe a typo. Oh, wait, he's in Canada. "Defence" is probably common there.

And I notice that you put the dollar sign after the number. That's how it's done in Canada, right? In the US the dollar sign is ahead of the number, like $5,000 instead of 5,000$. Now that I think about it, your way makes more sense since we say "five thousand dollars" not "dollars five thousand."

Do you mean right away or when it is time to renew my car insurance next year? The current car insurance is already paid untill August next year and I love my rate.

I'd say right away, before the claim is settled as it might not get reported to CLUE (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) until then. Right now you can truthfully answer the question "Have you had any accidents?"

When you get the title transferred to you and put the car on a new policy, there will be a refund from the old policy that will probably go to your husband.

Can you roughly guess how much more my car insurance will go up? 200% 250% or only 60% more ?

No way to predict. I had an at fault accident in 2010 and GEICO raised my renewal premium by 70%. You can go online and get quotes from several carriers if you like.

Do you think a divorce before the next car insurance renewal will help for my insurance rates?

No way to predict. How long will it take you to get divorced in your state if you started right now? How long will you wait until you start the process? Complacency is your enemy. At any rate, a divorce shouldn't have anything to do with your car insurance. It just doesn't seem wise to stay married to somebody you don't want to be with, especially since you've been separated for over a year and have already relocated to another country.

The car insurance shows both my husband's and my names! Why should it come up on my name? Sorry but I just can NOT believe this. Where is the point to be punished with higher rates when start shopping for my personal car insurance next year because of an accident I DIDN"T do and even the car causing the accident WASN"T mine ?!? I always thought insurance companies are asking higher rates the bad drivers and lower rates to the good ones?!? Or todays insurance companies say " We punish the good drivers with higher rates too if they used to have sex with bad drivers in the past ! "

It's the consequences of staying married and staying on the same policy. The accident is charged to the policy. Both your names are on the policy. In the US the claim is reported to CLUE under the policy which contains both your names. If you get your car and your name deleted from the policy before the claim gets reported to CLUE then it might just get reported under your husband's name and not have any effect on you. I can't guarantee that, of course.

Wait, I keep forgetting that the insurance and the accident are in Canada. The Canadian insurance industry has its own national database called CGI which apparently operates like CLUE. Looks like you can get your own Canadian insurance history from CGI. I suggest doing that right away.

Consumer_Autoplus_Request_Form_EN_January_2015.pdf (cgi.com)

Check the box for Proof of Insurance for Quote.

The accident might not even get on to US records. But I can't guarantee that either.

Get the car titled to you and insured where you live before you file for divorce. Otherwise it will still be marital property until the divorce is final.

[Evangela]

If there is a lawsuit against you in Canada/USA, you can be sued personally. In the USA, the plaintiff does not need to sue your business. Most entrepreneurs do not realize this and focus more on business insurance than on personal liability insurance. I've learned from a Houston car accident attorney that correctly, the attorney representing the plaintiff will look at all of the assets owned by the defendants. Suppose there are other businesses owned by an officer or director of your corporation. In that case, that entity may also be named as a defendant.

[Samantha33]

...Get the car titled to you and insured where you live before you file for divorce. Otherwise it will still be marital property until the divorce is final.

The car I drive is mine. I am the only registered owner of my car. The car he drives is registered as his car. He is the only registered owner of that car. He did that accident with his car. I even wasn't in his car at the time of the accident.

Today I called the insurance to ask for my own car insurance and to be removed from our common insurance. The person was ok to do this but he noticed there is a claim on the insurance and put me on hold to ask his supervisor. When he got back to me he said my husband should show up and call the insurance for a permission to be removed from our insurance.
I guess they just need him to hand him papers for a future lawsuit and then they will be ok to release me from the insurance. I told him again that we are separated and he is unreachable but this didn't help. I worry that now my husband is driving somewhere his car and if he does a new accident the insurance can serve to me other papers for another lawsuit.
Can you think of another solution?

[adjusterjack]

The car I drive is mine. I am the only registered owner of my car.

Registration and title are two different things. Are both of you on the title or just you? Have the title in front of you when you answer that question.

Today I called the insurance to ask for my own car insurance and to be removed from our common insurance. The person was ok to do this but he noticed there is a claim on the insurance and put me on hold to ask his supervisor. When he got back to me he said my husband should show up and call the insurance for a permission to be removed from our insurance.

Removing you from the policy and buying your own insurance doesn't change the past, it protects you in the future.

When you called "the insurance" who did you talk to? An agent? A company rep? Other? When you refer to "the insurance" please be more specific about who you talked to.

Buy your own insurance where you live. With a different insurance company. Then tell the agent at your old company that you have new insurance of your own and to remove you and your car from the policy. If they don't want to do it they can just keep billing your husband for the old policy as is. The lawsuit is already in motion. The status of the policy going forward has nothing to do with the lawsuit.

I worry that now my husband is driving somewhere his car and if he does a new accident the insurance can serve to me other papers for another lawsuit.

All the more reason to get your own insurance and get a divorce.

Can you think of another solution?

No.

You can upload attachments here. Please upload a copy of the complaint for me to review. Redact any identifying information.

[Necrophos]

This could be true if you are still married. Without a contract saying that you don't share the same finances and never did or a check that shows he paid the entire sum for that car, he can also go after you. My father caused an accident once, but the lawsuit was against my mother, too, as she was such a co-worker. They hired https://www.rflaw.net/practice-areas.../car-accident/ to defend their interests in court. My advice is to search for a better layer. The insurance company will fight for their firm, not for you.