I am being sued by an ins co for an accident that occurred in 07 when my ins lapsed. What can happen?

It was my fault & my car was towed away not the other person. I have no assets except my car. I'm so scared to even accept the papers that are being served. I've never been in trouble.
Additional Details
I do & have always had ins. Literally the 1 day it lapsed I had the accident. I hope others learn from this as well. I currently though have no assets, live paycheck to paycheck as a 1099 employee & have no svgs. Plus this happend in another state. Lastly my car is not only in my name. So I would think nobody could take it if I'm not the sole owner.

Nate W

You will go to court and the judge will rule how much money you owe the insurance company. They will take it from your checking and savings accounts, repo the car, and garnish wages until the debt is paid. Bankruptcy will not help either.
Sorry this happened to you, hopefully others will read this and understand how important having insurance is.

Alpha Romeo

It doesn't matter if you accept the papers that are being served or not, you will eventually have to go to court. If you are found guilty, you will have to pay the damages. The court can put wage garnishments on your paychecks, and take money directly out from there.

Luna & Lawnboy

If you are actually being sued, you need to accept service. You may want to run this by an attorney. However, if I were you, go to court prepared and act respectful. Bring your current policy to show you are insured.

I question why your are being sued. Did you fail to respond to the insurance company's requests for contact? If you did, they have every right to file suit. However, you can still call and find out if you can come to terms. You can probably negotiate a settlement with them. Offer to pay 50% of the total, and continue to negotiate until you reach a settlement. Let them know you are financially strapped. They can work with you. Once settlement is reached, they will have the suit dismissed.

IF they will not negotiate, the judge/magistrate will let you know how the matter will be handled. It is likely a payment plan will be set up under terms you can afford. This will not just go away if you avoid it. It will just make matters worse.

Tony d:-)

If you want to save money on lawyers fees, call the insurance company and see if they will settle out of court.

dieterzakas

Bankruptcy WOULD help in the case of a civil matter, as once it's discharged, that suit is dead. This happened to me nearly five years ago when I declared bankruptcy; the day I did so, I received papers from one of my creditors who sued me for the balance I owed them. When my case was discharged, so, too, was that suit. It is in this regard that the one fellow said it "wouldn't help," is mistaken.

However, you DO need to fight it. I recommend seeking the advice of an attorney regarding the matter.

Having said that, you MUST fight this suit. Go to court to defend yourself; failure to appear will mean the judge will grant a summary judgment against you, and then the plaintiff will have the authority to go after you. There is a whole laundry list of items you would need to provide in what is called a "deposition tuces decum"; some examples include leases on vehicles, interests you have in businesses, mortgages, real property, interests in vehicles, etc., and they could also garnish your wages.

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