Damage to city property due to car accident
In December of 2003, while driving, I got into a car accident. My back tires hit a patch of ice, and I swerved into the oncoming traffic, so I reacted quickly and wound up jumping a curb, sliding across a fence, and then the car stopped. The fence (chain link) had some minor damage, and my car was scratched a lot, but still driveable.
As my luck (or lack thereof) would have it, a police officer happened to drive by minutes after the accident. She wrote me a ticket for improper left turn (it was NOT at an intersection), so I fought that ticket and won.
The city in which the accident happened sent me a bill for the fence, but on it, the quoted a $500 fee for an electrical pole and wires that were downed... Clearly, since I drove the car home that night, and neither me or my passengers were injured I did not do major damage to a pole. Plus, I would remember smashing into a pole.
Long story short, I made several attempts to contact someone at the city to discuss my discrepancy with the bill, but no one ever returned my calls. The only correspondence I received were a few more letters, and then finally a letter from a collection agency. The agency also hand delivered "court papers" to my house. I may not know much about law, but I do know if those papers were legit it would have had to be sent by registered mail.
It's now almost 3 years later, and again the collection agency is calling.
I'm curious if there is a statute of limitations regarding damage to city property, and if so how long is it? Also, I'm curious to if the fact that I was not legally an adult at the time of the accident is relevant?
Thanks so much,
Crystal
