Hello.  Someone hit my parked car causing over $1,500 worth of damage.
 After hitting my car, this driver left the scene.  The incident has a
witness and I called the police but we didn't have the license plate
number.  The accused and I work in the same building so I was able to
get the plate number and forward the information to the cops.  The
cops haven't done anything yet but mail a letter, and the accused is
avoiding me.  By the way, I only have liability - no full-coverage nor
uninsured motorists, so my co. can't do much, so how do I go about
finding out this guy's insurance information?

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Request for Question Clarification by serenata-ga on 16 Apr 2003 22:06 PDT

Hello Kay ...

Knowing what state you live in would help. If you live within the US,
there are laws governing insurance companies and getting information.

In addition, the accident happened on private property, which may
affect your ability to recover. You didn't mention whether or not
there were any witnesses to the accident. Your only recourse may be to
sue for damages in small claims court or in a superior court,
depending on the laws in your state.

If the other person denies the accident and there are no witnesses,
you may not be able to recover at all.

Any additional information, such as whether or not there are
witnesses; whether you have confronted the person with the
information, etc., would help any Google Answers Researcher in
answering your question.

Thank you,
Serenata

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Clarification of Question by kaye5-ga on 16 Apr 2003 23:13 PDT

Serenata,

Thank you.  I live in Texas and, yes, there is a witness to the
incident.  Also, right after the man hit my car, he came into the
building and told the sale's rep. for the company what he did and then
left. There are other witnesses to his admission.  (I'd bet he only
admitted to it because there are windows everywhere and he probably
saw the witness to the accident, but that's neither here nor there.) 
The officer who came to the scene told me that parking on private
property is up to the owner of the building.  At that time, there were
no "guidelines," if you can call it that, for parking, so that isn't a
problem.

Small claims court may be my only option.  But, it seems to me that I
have an iron-clad case.  My main question right now is if there's a
way to find out if this guy even has insurance, and if so, how?  (I
only have liability).  Thank you for your help!

-Kaye

Hi Kaye ~

Please remember that Google Answers Researchers do not give legal
advice, and the information we provide is general information that is
available to the public.

While this isn't the answer you were looking for, it seems you are
between a rock and a hard place. The negatives are:

1. The incident happened on private property, so there is no traffic
law broken which would get the other person a citation to help your
cause.
2. You are not insured for this type of damage, so your insurance
company isn't inclined to help you get repairs to your car.

On the positive side (if, indeed, we can call it 'positive') -

1. You have eye witnesses to the accident; and
2. You have witnesses to his statement that he caused the property
damage.

As for finding out his insurance company, about the only recourse you
have is to ask him. Since there is no citation issued, there is no
reason for him to give that information, and Texas Statutes would
preclude any casualty insurance company from disclosing information
about their policyholders without permission from their insured.

Texas Statutes >> Insurance >> Privacy
  - http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/in/in0028A00toc.html

You are not without recourse, though, to pursue the matter of your
property damage in Small Claims Court. Small Claims court is a court
of inferior jurisdiction in which claims in an amount under $5000 may
be pursued. The Peoples' Lawyer site offers some helpful information
on handling a matter in small claims court in Texas.
   - http://www.peopleslawyer.net/smallclaims/texasstatute.html

Before you do that, though - and please remember this is not legal
advice, but personal advice to help with your claim in Small Claims
Court, should you have to go that route - you might want to write him
a letter, certified mail, return receipt requested, explaining the
amount of your damages and asking for his insurance information to
settle the matter. Asking that he respond within a specified period of
time (ie., ten days or so, which is reasonable) will give you some
idea of whether or not he intends to do the right thing. Be sure to
give him information on how to contact you.

In case he ignores your letter, you have this as further proof that
you tried to settle it in a reasonable way and he did not respond.

Who knows, he may respond to you giving you his insurance information
and you can file a claim against his policy. If he does not respond,
you have at least tried to settle it amicably.

If he does not respond, you will have to sue him in Small Claims Court
- which involves a filing fee plus a fee for having him served a
Summons and a copy of your Complaint. If he ignores that, you can win
by default, or he can fight it, in which case, you have your
witnesses.

I would recommend you also get a written estimate for repairs (to
verify the damages). In light of the fact you have eye witnesses and
others who heard him admit to causing the damage, you should have no
problem prevailing.

If this is overwhelming, you can always get legal advice. You may want
to try the Bar Association's Legal Aid, who can set up an appointment
with an attorney who has a minimum charge for that consultation and
who may be willing to direct you through the processes in Small Claims
Court.

A search of Google using the search term "Texas Legal  Aid" will give
you a listing of the many Legal Aid offices in Texas, and you can find
the correct office to contact for your jurisdiction.

In any case, contacting him by mail as I suggested above can't hurt,
and will show that you have made a good faith effort to settle the
matter before you do anything further.

Search terms used -
 - Texas insurance law
 - Texas small claims court
 - Texas Legal Aid

Good luck ... I hope he does the right thing,
Serenata

Serenata was quick with a response and clear in what s/he suggested. 
I was also given a couple of helpful sights, and along with a direct
answer to my question, even though the answer wasn't what I wanted,
s/he gave me what I think is sound advice.