Suing Himself? Man Sues After Hitting His Car

[Yankeegirl]

Suing Himself? Man Sues After Hitting His Car

POSTED: 1:39 pm CST March 16, 2006

LODI, Calif. -- Curtis Gokey has only himself to blame for an accident, but he sued anyway.

Gokey is suing the city of Lodi for driving a dump truck into his car. The only thing is, he was the city employee driving the truck.

Gokey was driving the truck when he backed into his own car. He filed a $3,600 claim for damages, which the city rejected.

City attorneys said Gokey was essentially suing himself.

Now, Gokey's wife is filing a claim in her own name, saying she's the one who uses the car. The city has rejected her claim, too. But Rhonda Gokey isn't giving up so easily. She said she's not as nice as her husband. She insisted she has "the right to sue the city because a city's vehicle damaged my private vehicle."

Rhonda Gokey's claim is for $1,200 more than Curtis'.

This is just stupid....

[coriolis]

Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

[CajunMama]

Isn't that just the stupidist thing you've ever heard of?

[O Town]

Isn't that just the stupidist thing you've ever heard of?

Pretty close.

[Gorky]

Well technically, the city is liable for the damage he causes whilst he works, even if it's to his own property, assuming he did it by accident. The cities insurance should cover the bill. Just seem a little fishy to me that of all the people in the city, he hits his own car... Maybe he had a dent he wanted repairing so he just made it bigger and hoped the city would pay for its repair However, assuming they can't prove he did it deliberately, he should win this case as stupid as it sounds.

[CajunMama]

and we wonder why auto insurance rates are so darn high

[Yankeegirl]

I swear this is the stupidist story I have ever read.... I really dont know what people are thinking....

[TexasStooge]

What some people would do for money.

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

Suing Himself? Man Sues After Hitting His Car

POSTED: 1:39 pm CST March 16, 2006

LODI, Calif. -- Curtis Gokey has only himself to blame for an accident, but he sued anyway.

Gokey is suing the city of Lodi for driving a dump truck into his car. The only thing is, he was the city employee driving the truck.

Gokey was driving the truck when he backed into his own car. He filed a $3,600 claim for damages, which the city rejected.

City attorneys said Gokey was essentially suing himself.

Now, Gokey's wife is filing a claim in her own name, saying she's the one who uses the car. The city has rejected her claim, too. But Rhonda Gokey isn't giving up so easily. She said she's not as nice as her husband. She insisted she has "the right to sue the city because a city's vehicle damaged my private vehicle."

Rhonda Gokey's claim is for $1,200 more than Curtis'.

This is just stupid....

HAAH THAT'S HILARIOUS!!! He'll lose his own money cause the city could say he was driving the city vehicle that damaged his private property!

I got a great laugh out of this one!

[greeng13]

like it or not, it was a "city vehicle" driven by a city employee. if it was his own private car he would be going against HIS private insurance company and so essentially it would be the same.

it just so happens that the insurance company is that which the city uses due to the fact that it is a "city vehicle".

if i were to back into my own car for instance (or my boat trailer) and cause more damage than i could pay with just the deductible (i.e damage stimated at $3000 and deductible is $500) then yes...i would probably file a claim against my insurance...that is what insurance is there for.....

he cannot get his own private insurance for a publicly held vehicle that he evidently has permission to drive (probably a take home vehicle and he hit the other car at his house).

now.... they (the city) can take away his driving privileges as he is admitting he no longer has a "perfect driving record"...or they might even be able to fire him (depending on the employment laws in that state).

AFTER EDIT: My point is that accidents do happen all the time...just because he is trying to go through insurance doesn't mean he's doing it for the money...to me it seems like the proper route.

Another example (for instance) if i am cutting a limb off a tree over my house and that limb falls and crashes into the roof causing damage then more than likely (depending on my homeowner's policy) i would file a claim against my homeowner's insurance!!! was the accident my fault? Yes...am i essentially suing myself? probably...would this be considered fraud? probably not....

[wxmann_91]

interesting

[tropicana]

What an idiot!

[Hurricaneman]

Suing Himself? Man Sues After Hitting His Car

POSTED: 1:39 pm CST March 16, 2006

LODI, Calif. -- Curtis Gokey has only himself to blame for an accident, but he sued anyway.

Gokey is suing the city of Lodi for driving a dump truck into his car. The only thing is, he was the city employee driving the truck.

Gokey was driving the truck when he backed into his own car. He filed a $3,600 claim for damages, which the city rejected.

City attorneys said Gokey was essentially suing himself.

Now, Gokey's wife is filing a claim in her own name, saying she's the one who uses the car. The city has rejected her claim, too. But Rhonda Gokey isn't giving up so easily. She said she's not as nice as her husband. She insisted she has "the right to sue the city because a city's vehicle damaged my private vehicle."

Rhonda Gokey's claim is for $1,200 more than Curtis'.

This is just stupid....

This guy is wierd

[coriolis]

Which is it: filing a claim or suing? The story says both. It seems that the reporting of this story is a bit imprecise.

[HurricaneHunter914]

We'll here is the good news. At least he won't lose any money if he loses his case.

[azsnowman]

Notice the location of the story, "The LEFT coast"...need I say MORE

[JonathanBelles]

dumb people i swear