My daughter is being sued in small claims court in N.Y. The person that is suing her claims she damaged his car. Are the parents or the 18 year old daughter responsible for any judgment the plaintiff wins?

A 18 year old adult ( they are not a child anymore) is responsible for their own debt.

If this is a car wreck, who was the owner of the car she was driving

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Originally Posted by paul322

My daughter is being sued in small claims court in N.Y. The person that is suing her claims she damaged his car. Are the parents or the 18 year old daughter responsible for any judgment the plaintiff wins?

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As FrChuck said - who was the owner of the car and sometimes the circumstances matter - such as lack of parental supervision was somehow at play.

Are you talking about an auto accident or some other type of damage (such as fire, beating the car with a ballbat - which I, incidentally, have seen between boyfriend/girlfriend), etc.

There are certain circumstances where the parents are jointly responsible.

If the daughter owns the car in her name and the insurance is in her name and the vehicle registration is in her name, then the parents cannot be a party to a lawsuit in the matter.

HOWEVER... if the parents are co-signers, are main policy holders for the insurance or register the car in their name, they can be party (defendants) in a lawsuit for a child over 18.

Keep in mind they are JOINT defendants and not sole defendants.

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Originally Posted by mr206

There are certain circumstances where the parents are jointly responsible.

If the daughter owns the car in her name and the insurance is in her name and the vehicle registration is in her name, then the parents cannot be a party to a lawsuit in the matter.

HOWEVER... if the parents are co-signers, are main policy holders for the insurance or register the car in their name, they can be party (defendants) in a lawsuit for a child over 18.

Keep in mind they are JOINT defendants and not sole defendants.

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I don't know that this is an auto accident - the daughter damaged a car.

What's your take on, say, criminal mischief - if the daughter damaged "a car" by throwing bricks at it?

I see a parental supervision issue but I'm not 100%.

Also, I would think the Defendant will sue everybody and then see how it boils down.

Oooooh.. yea, I read that to be an accident.

Well, tort law is a lot looser than criminal code, so it's very plausible to see parents of a child on a suit, because it's likely suing the kid is like getting blood from a turnip.

Ultimately, an 18 year old is legally responsible for their actions, but if the daughter lived with them, she is still considered a dependent, which would make it possible to add them to the suit. Now, if she lives on her own, any defense attorney worth his salt would get them dropped from the suit, as they would have zero culpability in the matter.

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Originally Posted by mr206

oooooh.. yea, I read that to be an accident.

Well, tort law is a lot looser than criminal code, so it's very plausible to see parents of a child on a suit, because it's likely suing the kid is like getting blood from a turnip.

Ultimately, an 18 year old is legally responsible for their actions, but if the daughter lived with them, she is still considered a dependant, which would make it possible to add them to the suit. Now, if she lives on her own, any defense attorney worth his salt would get them dropped from the suit, as they would have zero culpability in the matter.

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I read it the same way the first time through - I agree with you. In NY it's a shotgun lawsuit approach - shoot at everybody and maybe you'll hit (and collect from) someone.

Thanks for the quick reply -