Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Michigan

I was inn a motorcycle accident and didn't have property insurance on the motorcycle. The insurance compoany, of the owners of the house that I hit, want a negotionable $6K settlement. (They initially wanted $10K!) I had a siding and brick mason give me estimates from the photos that I took, and they said it would cost about $2.4K to repair. Is there any way to get the actual bills from the lawyer, who has them.? He would not release them, unless he brought formal litigation against me. And should I give him any money towards the settlement? He wants some money by next week,


Asked on 3/31/10, 12:34 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Audra Arndt Audra A. Arndt & Associates, PLLC

Definitely not. They are strong arming you into giving them money that they may not even be entitled to. You should never enter into a settlement agreement, or pay money, without having your own lawyer review the documents. What if you gave them money and they changed the terms of the settlement, because you hadn't signed anything yet? Then it's your word against theirs, and you're even more screwed. They are likely using the highest bid possible to get more money out of you, which is not legal. If this were brought to court, they would have to have at least 3 bids to show the average amount of the repair costs for the damage you caused. If the lawyer has nothing to hide, and has legitimate bids, then why won't he show them to you? That right there raises a red flag. While he may not be legally required to show them to you, if he were trying to resolve this matter without litigation, then why not show them to you? Doesn't make sense, which means there's something fishy going on.

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Answered on 4/06/10, 12:12 pm


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