Legal Question in Insurance Law in Michigan

Car damaged by unknown in parking lot of employment.

My car was damaged in a parking lot where I work by an unknown vehicle, causing AT LEAST $500 in damage. The company where I work will not pay for repairs, nor will the buildings owner/property management company. My insurance has a five hundred dollar deductable, so to repair the car will cost me at least $500 out of my own pocket.

Do I have any recourse against either my employer or the buildings owner/property manager? Could I take one or both to small claims court for the amount of repairs?

The parking lot is a private lot. No one at work is claiming any responsibility.


Asked on 10/30/02, 8:55 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: Car damaged by unknown in parking lot of employment.

You are probably out of luck. Whoever is in charge of the parking lot -- and it may be neither your employer nor the building management company -- would only be liable if they caused the accident, whether intentionally or negligently. They are not guarantors of the safety of your car from careless drivers; in other words, if another driver hits you it's his/her fault and not the parking lot's. The managers of the lot don't have to pay you for something that isn't their fault unless they have previously accepted such responsibility -- and few sane managers would do that.

Also, most parking lots expressly disclaim liability, either in a long-term contract or on the ticket stub you receive upon entering the lot. Some of these clauses might well prove unenforceable, but even if you can get past the disclaimer you will still have to prove that the company is at fault, and nothing you said in your question suggests that you can prove this.

I'm afraid you are probably going to have to eat the deductible on this one.

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Answered on 10/30/02, 9:54 pm


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