[Absolut Speed]

I know a message board is the last place to ask, but....

Most know my pit area was run over at a Solo II event and approx $1000 in damage was done. Offender refused to pay, as has insurance. Attorney I know did a favor for me and wrote a letter to the offender's insurance company asking them to do this the easy way and pay up now, or the hard way, and take the case to court. They again refused to pay. The attorney I used doesn't practice in Iowa and he referred me to someone who does for $155/hour.

I'm already out $1000, so..

Do I go alone and risk losing $1000, assuming it's a fairly simple case be it judged one way or the other?

Or do I improve my chances and hire an attorney, risk losing $1300 and at most get back $690?

When I pitted this question to the attorney that wrote the letter for me, he said it was always his advice to recommend legal counsel, especially when his insurance, who would represent him, would use an attorney.

(IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/banghead.gif)

[trackbird]

Wow. I wondered how your mess turned out. I am a bit hard headed on occasion and if it was in my budget, I'd consider the attorney. Now, I am not a fan of our "sue me" society and consider it a last resort. However, this is a last resort. I would make sure that you sue for court costs. It should cost you nothing for him to break your stuff and for you to get your money back. So, I'd get "help", check the law and go for it. Maybe I'd do that just because he said he'd take care of it (admitted guilt) and then changed his mind and decided it was not his problem. Second, you may have to garnish his wages in order to get your money. A court judgement will not mean that you get paid. That can be a whole different problem. If you have the cash, I'd probably do it, just for principal (and the cash is nice to have returned to you).

However, I'm not an attorney and I didn't stay at a holiday in express last night.....