My brother's wife was involved in an accident recently. 

My understanding of the event:
- Brother's Wife (BW) was traveling South-Bound when a vehicle pulled out in front of her from a parking lot causing a collision.
- Police responded and issued a ticket to the other driver.
- Other driver admitted fault stating they thought they had time to pull in front of BW's vehicle.

Follow-up of event:
- BW's vehicle suffered +/-$6k in damage + rental car fees.
- BW has liability only on vehicle.
- After much arguing with Other Driver's insurance, Other Driver's insurance decided accident was shared fault and nothing would be paid out.

Brother and wife filed a personal suit against the other driver for cost of repairs plus rental.  They consulted with a lawyer that is a friend of a friend, and he said they had a good case but he'd charge them 30% and they couldn't tack on legal fees. The suit was shot down today by the judge; I don't know the details of why.


Main question:
Is there any recourse for my brother?  Get a lawyer involved?

I used these guys once with poor results.  Do not recommend.

I's swear I've seen them before... 

I had a similar accident and had to inform their insurance I'd be filing a complaint investigation with the State Corporation Commission’s Bureau of Insurance.  They paid out simply by the threat.

Why would they only have liability on a vehicle of such value? BW's insurance should be consulted for advice, but not having coverage may limit their willingness to go to bat for them.

Probably need more details on why suit was shot down, then see about a lawyer.  Sometimes even though BW on has liability, her insurance company can sometimes provide guidance.

What was the reason for shared liability? Was your BW going above posted speed limit? Most common in right of way cases, in my opinion. What other factors were not included?

I am guessing the BW has low cost/cut rate insurance and they would not help in the matter as she only had liability.

I'm assuming that this was filed in general district court and the Judge there shot it down.  If this is the case, then they do have the ability to appeal the decision to the circuit court and have the circuit court hear the case.  However, they must note their appeal within 10 days of the court's ruling.  In order to note an appeal, they will need to go to the GDC clerk and fill out the required form.  They will also have to pay a writ tax and any fees to perfect their appeal.

Thanks guys, I'm going to see if I can get some more info from my brother and will post back if he's forthcoming.

Hard to say without knowing why the case was dismissed, but if it was in General District Court, there is an automatic right of appeal to Circuit Court, which gets you a new trial.  You can also demand a jury.  There is a very short time to file the appeal though, or the decision becomes final.  The appeal must be filed within ten (10) days or it is waived.  OP's brother and sister-in-law should run not walk to the courthouse and notice the appeal.

Oh, and get a lawyer.  30% is worth it.

I mean this with the utmost respect... Please don't take it badly.

Your brother and his wife sought the advice of an attorney, decided it wasn't worth the expense, filed a pro se suit, and had the suit dismissed. And now they want to know if they should get an attorney involved?

I think that time was before filing suit, personally.

I agree.

Their other option is to pursue it through their insurance company. I would never take on an insurance company w/o a lawyer.

However, filing a pro se lawsuit and having it dismissed doesn't help their position much.

-shooter