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HomeMy WebLinkAbout18 CLAIM ENTERPRISE 07-07-98 LAW OFFICES OF WOODRUFF, SPRADLIN & SMAR3~ A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION AGENDA MEMORANDUM NO. 18. 7'7-98 TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City COuncil City of Tustin FROM: City Attorney DATE: June 30, 1998 RE: Claim of Enterprise Rent-A-Car; Claim No. 98-16 RECOMMENDATION' After investigation and review by this office and the City's Claims Administrators, it is recommended that the City Council deny the claim and send notice thereof to the claimant and to the claimant's attorneys. DISCUSSION: Enterprise Rent-A-Car alleges that a person renting one of their cars hit a water line at "Branklin" and Jamboree, and water and gravel flew into the air, blasting the left side of the car. The claim is for $1,729.39 in property damage. "Branklin" is not a street in the City of Tustin, and in the area near Jamboree, the Irvine Ranch Water District is responsible for water service. The driver of the vehicle owned by Enterprise is not a City employee. This is a case of no liability on the part of the City of Tustin. There is no evidence that the City was in anyway responsible for the damages to claimant's vehicle. Enclosure CC; William A.' Huston, City Manager 1102-9816 64900_1 '~~ Office of the City Clerk ,~,uui:~i-I:, .'ji.'~,~OLiti & SMART April 6, 1998 Carl Warren & Co. P. O. Box 25180 Santa Ana, CA 92799-5180 Re: Transmittal of Document(s) City of Tustin 300 Centennial Way Tustin, CA 92680 (714) 573-3026 FAX (714) 832-0825 C1 ai mant: C1 aim No.: Filed Wi th City: Enterprise Rent A Car 98-16 4-6-98 Receipt of Claim/Summons and Complaint by the City Clerk's Office on: Date: 4-6-98 Time: 10:00 a.m. By: Personal Service upon the undersigned Regular Mail Certi fi ed/Regi stered Mai 1 Interdepartment Del ivery The enclosed Claim (or Application to File Late Claim) was presented to this office as indicated above and has been referred to the appropriate City department for its investigation and al so to the offices of Woodruff, Spradlin and Smart, Attn: Lois E. Jeffrey, City Attorney. By this letter, you are authorized to commence the necessary investigation of this claim on behalf of the City. We request that you give such notices as may be appropriate to the City's insurance carrier(s) and further request that you submit your preliminary and all subse, quent~reports to the City, with a copy to-the City Attorney and to the Insurance carrier(s) if they so request. Upon receipt of advice from the City Attorney, we will plan to present this matter to the City Council and/or take such other steps as are directed by the City Attorney. Other: A copy of this letter and enclosures were sent on 4-6-98 to the City Attorney and Department Head, and the original was forwarded to the Finance Department. S/q~n cerel y, Beverley Wh~d Deputy City f'Cl'erk £~c*losures City of Tustin AGAINST THE CITY OF (For Damages to Persons or Personal Property) The law provides generally that a claim must be filed with the city Clerk of the city of Tustin within 6 months after the incident or event occurred. Be sure your claim is against the City of Tustin, not another public entity. Where space is insufficient, please use additional paper and .identify information by paragraph number. Completed claims must be mailed or delivered to the City Clerk, City of Tustin, 300 ~Centennial Way, Tustin, California 92780 WHEN COMPLETING THIS FORMt PLEASE TYPE OR USE BLACK INK TO THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL, city of Tustin, California: The undersigned respectfully submits the following claim and information relative to damage to person and/or property: 1. a. NAME OF CLAIMANT: ~A<~9¢~5~ ~e~% ~ C~%r , b. ADDRESS OF CLAIMANT: \%L~ % ~~ ~\uc~ c. CITY/ZIP CODE: %~%%~%c~ ~oR. C~ Cl~G~ d. TELEPHONE NO: ( q%~ ) %~%-%n9o e. DATE OF BIRTH: ~%r~ f. SOCIAL SECURITY NO: v%l f~ g. DRIVERS LICENSE NO: ~% r~ 2. Name, telephone and post office address to which claimant desires notices to be sent (if other than above): 3. This claim is submitted against: a. ~ . The city of Tustin only. b. The following employee(s) of the City of Tustin only: Ce The City of Tustin and the following employee(s) of the City of Tustin only: 4. Occurrence or event from whiCh the claim arises: a. DATE: b. TIME: c. PLACE (Exact and specific location): d.. HOW and under what circumstances did damage or injury occur? Specifk the particular occurrence, event, act or omission you claim caused the injury or damage (Use additional paper if necessary): WHAT particula] tion by the City, or alleged damage c ±njury? employees, caused the 5. Give a description of the injury, property damage or loss so far known at the time of this claim. If there were no injuries, state "no injuries,,. 6. Give the name(s) of the City employee(s) causing the damage or injury. 7. Name and address of any other person injured: 8. Name and address of the owner or any damaged property: 9. Damages claimed' a. Amount claimed as of the date: ~ \q ~.~ b. Estimated amount of future costs: ~o~ c. .Total amount claimed: ~ \~~. ~ d. Attach basis for computation of amounts claimed (include copies of all bills, invoices, estimates, etc. 10. Names and addresses of all witnesses, hospitals, doctors, etc. WARNING: IT IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE TO FILE A FALSE CLAIM! ! (Penal Code Section 72; Insurance Code Section 556.0) I have read the matters and statements made in the above claim and I know the same to be true of my own k~owledge, except as tO those matters stated to be upon information or belief and as to such matters I believe the same to be true. I certify under penalty or perjury that the foregoing is TRUE AND CORRECT. Executed this ~~ day of ,19 ~ , at Tustin, California. DATE FILED: BI:CLFORM' Revised 8/96 · rent-a-carl 18151 Beach Blvd. Huntington Beach, C.A 92648-1306 714-841-5779 RE: · Your Insured: Your Claim No.' Dat'e of Loss:. Our File No.' Deaf Please find enclosed the documentation to support the damages to the Enterprise vehicle as a result of the above-captioned loss. Damages/ACV Loss of Use ( ~. days at $ ~c1.~'=1 .per day) Administrative Fees Diminishment of Value Tow Charges Vehicle Valuation Cost Unused Portion of Registration Less Estimated Salvage $ \oo .o0 $ TOTAL CLAIM We believe this information will support our subrogation demand and will aid in the prompt settlement of our claim. Please send your draft in the amount of $ \""1 ;) ct, .-..%~ to the undersigned at the address above. Please note our file number on your draft. If you h'ave any questions, please contact the undersigned. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Very truly yours,.,¢, Nicole Meyer Senior Loss Control Administrator (714) 841-6790 rent-a~:arl · 18151 Beach Blvd. Huntington Beach, CA 92648-1306 714-841-5779 This letter is in reference to the attached claim for damages to the Enterprise Rent-A-Car vehicle. In addition to the actual physical damages, we are entitled to recover for the "loss of use" of the rental vehicle, an administrative fee related to the processing of the claim, and diminishment of value directly related to the damages incurred on the vehicle. The legal justification for the above referenced "loss of use" may be found in the California Jury Instruction (Civil), (BAJI. 14.22). and in Owen v. Pyeatt (1967) 57 CR 100 248 CA2D 840 and Meyers v. Bradford (1921) 210 P 47l 54 CA 157. The jury instructions related to the above captioned cases established as loss of use "the reasonable rental value of a replacement vehicle because these companies rent in excess of fifty percent of the Vehicles rented daily in the United States. and because it is not reasonable to expect Enterprise to rent a replacement vehicle for themselves." There is no legal requirement that Enterprise provide proof of 100% utilization of its vehicles in order to be reimbursed for loss of use of the damaged vehicle. Both loss of use and administrative fees were also addressed in California Civil Code 1936 (AB3006) effective January 1, 1989. The state law specifically allows a rental company to recover from the renter. a) Loss of use of the rented vehicle if the renter is liable for the damage to or loss of the rented vehicle and 'b) An administrative charge which shall include the cost of appraisal and all other costs and expenses related to the processing of the damage, loss. loss of use, repair or replacement of the vehicle. The above code limits this fee to a maximum of $150 based on the estimated cost of parts and labor necessary to repair the vehicle. The above administrative fees are designed to partially offset the cost involved in handling the claim and collection for the damages to the Enterprise vehicle. These costs would otherMse not have been incurred by Enterprise had the car not been damaged. Depreciation of a vehicle due to damage (diminishment of value) is supported in California by several cases including Reynolds v. Bank of America, Valencia v. Shell Oil Co. and Brown v. Rowland. Industry evaluation of vehicles wholesaled due to damage over the past three years has shown that these damages reduce the value of the vehicle by at least ten percent. Therefore. we have billed an additional 10% of our damages as diminishment of value. Our office believes the above loss of use and administrative fees. along with diminishment of value on the vehicle, are valid costs reflecting the true value of our claim.