by Peter Buxton, trial lawyer
CRUNCH!
Your precious exotic car has been damaged by another driver who was at fault. If the repairs are extensive you may have to declare them on resale. Can you add the anticipated loss in value of your car to a claim that you advance for repairs and perhaps personal injury?
Yes. in Cummings v. 565204 B.C. Ltd. the Plaintiff was in a collision and her 2005 Nissan 350Z sustained more than $13,000 in damages that were repaired. When she went to sell her vehicle she was told that it was worth less on account of the amount of damage caused by the accident. In considering the Plaintiff’s claim for the lost value of the car caused by the negligence of the Defendant Madame Justice Gerow stated that:
71]
[72] Mr. Haffenden testified that the owner of a vehicle that has been involved in an accident where the damages exceed $2,000 must declare the damages, whether selling privately or to a dealer. In his opinion, the Nissan would have suffered a depreciation of approximately 20% or $7,600 on the date of the accident as a result of the damage it sustained.
[73] It is not necessary for a plaintiff to sell a vehicle in order to make out a claim for accelerated depreciation. The assessment of a claim for accelerated depreciation should be made on the day of the accident: Reinders v. Wilkinson (1994), 51 B.C.A.C. 230.
(See also the decision of Mister Justice Punnett in Pan v. Shihundu.)
BUT HOW DO I GATHER EVIDENCE OF THE VALUE OF THE CLAIM?
This is where Rob Fournier can assist you. His company The Fournier Auto Group has a very useful blog that can give you information to assist in pursuing this type of claim. In fact, Rob Fournier can provide an expert opinion for use in settlement or trial on the value of the loss.
WHAT IF I WANT TO ONLY BRING A CLAIM FOR THE ACCELERATED DEPRECIATION, CAN I DO THAT MYSELF?
There is a useful article written by lawyer Erik Magraken in his blog BC Injury Law on the issue of accelerated depreciation and suing for this loss yourself in the BC Small Claims Court. I would strongly recommend that you read this article to better understand your remedy in court.
(I want to thank Rob Fournier and Erik Magraken for their assistance in providing material and expertise for this blog page.)
If you have suffered a loss on account of accelerated depreciation or any other accident-related matter and would like to have a free initial consultation regarding your claim and your right to compensation email me at pbuxton@panlegal.ca or call me at 604.372.4550.
Visit my website at https://panlegal.ca/peter-buxton-qc
