QUESTION
How do I get a copy of a letter I wrote to my sister''s insurance co?
Asked on Aug 15th, 2012 on Civil Litigation - New York
More details to this question:
My sister''s house burned and she and her family (husband+3children=5) stayed with me for 5 months while they were fixing her house. She had me write a letter to her insurance co stating that she needed to give me $600/mo while she was staying there. She never gave me 1 cent while they all stayed there, and only contributed about $200 towards groceries the whole time. She said her insurance co would pay once she moved back into her house. Well she has, and now she doesn''t speak to me and told our mother that her insurance co is not paying for it. I am going to take her to small claims court, but I would like to have a copy of that letter for evidence. How do I go about getting. I never made a copy because I did not think I needed to. I learned that lesson. In the mean time, I don''t know how to get a copy of my letter. I could really use that $3000 since I went broke helping them. And believe me, she has plenty of money.
1 ANSWER
You can ask the insurance company. If they refuse, you may be able to subpoena the insurance company for discovery in the action between you and your sister, but you will probably not be able to do this in small claims court. In order to have discovery, you will probably have to start your action in the civil court. However, although it doesn't hurt to ask, it sounds as if anything more would be much more trouble and expense than it is worth. From what you wrote, it seems that your letter (which is hearsay if offered to prove the truth of what is contained therein,and therefore may not be admitted into evidence in any event) proves nothing, unless you can show that your sister knew what you were writing and didn't object. If you can prove that, what would you need the letter for?
Answered on Aug 23rd, 2012 at 10:37 AM