Posted on 03/15/2006 12:40:26 PM PST by calcowgirl
LODI, Calif. - When a dump truck backed into Curtis Gokey's car, he decided to sue the city for damages.
Only thing is, he was the one driving the dump truck.
But that minor detail didn't stop Gokey, a Lodi city employee, from filing a $3,600 claim for the December accident, even after admitting the crash was his fault.
After the city denied that claim because Gokey was, in essence, suing himself, he and his wife, Rhonda, decided to file a new claim under her name.
City Attorney Steve Schwabauer said this one also lacks merit because Rhonda Gokey can't sue her own husband.
"You can sue your spouse for divorce, but you can't sue your spouse for negligence," Schwabauer said. "They're a married couple under California law. They're one entity. It's damage to community property."
But Rhonda Gokey insisted she has "the right to sue the city because a city's vehicle damaged my private vehicle."
In fact, her claim, currently pending at Lodi City Hall, is for an even larger amount - $4,800.
"I'm not as nice as my husband is," she said.
He should have taken a clue from Steve Bosell and sued for 1)emotional sodomy, 2)vehicular rape, and 3)improper backing that led to severe emotional distress.
He's a government employee. It'll take a lot more than this to get rid of him. I wonder if he's also a union member.
Union.
""I'm not as nice as my husband is," she said."
How about the city stop being nice and sue them for a frivolous law suit, and wasting taxpayer money.
Had he run into another employee's vehicle, or had another employee run into his vehicle, no one would question it. Unless he did it on purpose, and that doesn't seem to be the case, the City ought to pay the claim. The City has already spent more money denying the claim than if they had just paid it from the beginning. And spouses can sue one another in California for negligence.
I hope these two pinheads didn't have kids. Sounds like Mom and Dad have the IQs of a toaster oven.
Is the same lawyer representing both parties in this case?
But she's obviously as stupid.
Well I can kiss another keyboard goodbye, LOL!
Sure, every City employee is going to be backing dump trucks into their personal vehicles. Come on. There is no indication that is what happened here. You can be damned sure that if he backed into a council member's car the City would be paying it.
Can I sue myself for slander in CA? I make myself look like a fool sometimes!
A city vehicle driven by a city employee did have an accident with a private vehicle. If it was you, you would expect to be compensated.
The issue is he backed into his own vehicle which really does not matter since it was a city vehicle.
If it was an accident, that is why everyone has insurance and it needs to be paid.
The only way I woul dnot is if the city can show he hit his own car on purpose - late on payments, its old and wanted to replace it - some sort of fraud the city is still liable.
Since cities now own trees along streets, I was at city hall when a guy came in and got a whole new paint job for his car because a branch fell on it.
I believe that some states do permit lawsuits between spouses alleging negligence. I vaguely remember a case in Connecticut some years back where the wife was a passenger in a car driven by the husband, and sued him for injuries resulting from him driving off the road. I think the idea was that the husband paid for insurance to compensate victims of his negligence and that it shouldn't matter whether the victim was a spouse.
In his case, I'd say it's auto-eroticism.
What, he doesn't have insurance?
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