I had a minor altercation while parking my car--can I be sued for emotional distress if

DexDd

New member
there is no damage fro? My question is: If the insurance companies of 2 parties involved in a parking altercation determine there is NO DAMAGE and no claim, can the person who unfairly accused me of damaging her car while parking sue me in small claims court? here is the background:I was parking my car in a metered space in Los Angeles one night recently, and after getting out of my car, saw that the front of my car was partially in the red zone in front of it. Someone had pulled into the space behind me after I parked, and gotten out of her car, She pulled beyond her space's markers (on the pavement), making it difficult for me to clear the red zone without her moving her car back into her space, and out of mine. So I asked her nicely to please move her car so I could clear the red zone. She ignored me, so I got back into my car and backed up SLOWLY until I touched her bumper. She went ballistic on me, screaming expletives at me about how I "f---d up" her car when in fact there was NO damage whatsoever to her car or mine. I told her to calm down, apologized profusely, approaching her to look at the bumper with me to see there was nothing wrong. She screamed at me more, threatened to hit me if I came near her (I never got within 5 feet of her), and said repeatedly she was "gonna make [me] pay..." She threatened to call the police, and continued screaming at me, calling me names, hurling outlandish accusations. I did eventually lose my cool, and shouted back, defending myself, telling her she was nuts and there was NO damage, tapping bumpers is an everyday occurrence in cities everywhere. Then again tried to bring it all down, and asked her again if we could just discuss this and walk away, but she insisted "no, I'm gonna make you pay," saying she was calling the police. At this point I said go right ahead, waste the city's already compromised/ budget-slashed services, and she called 911! Unbelievable. While on the phone w/ dispatch I hear her lying to them, saying I threatened HER and was calling HER names, etc. I was so angry at this point, I yelled to the dispatcher, "she is exaggerating this whole thing and is crazy, don't listen to her and waste everyone's time"-- she held the phone out and said, "...see, she's yelling," and they sent a car. My husband came out of the hotel nearby (I was tjere to pick him up), and saw what was going on, also trying to calm the situation. The LA Sheriff responded, and before I had a chance to get to them, she ran over to them and accused me of all types of nonsense. OK, remember, this is a bumper TAP, no lie. She insisted on filing a police report, even though I had offered my insurance card to her sister (who arrived on the scene from a nearby hotel we were parked near), who wanted to take a picture of it w/ her phone. She never did because her insane sister did not want her to. The Sheriff had to oblige to her insistence to file a report, even though it was obvious there was no damage. Plus, even though I DID readily agree to exchange info with this psycho, she said she did not want to give me her info, and why did she need to, blah, blah, blah. So the reporting cop tells me because WE were uncooperative, he was filing the report. My only mistake here was that I lost my cool, and was agitated when speaking to the police (but never showing any disrespect, or bad behavior), only using a hostile tone, since she continued assaulting me verbally when they arrived and lying about what happened. Sorry for the long-drawn out explanation, but I have NEVER hit anyone, have a totally clean driving record, NO CLAIMS ever w/ my insurance co, and no record of any kind w/ the police. So I don't know what to do now. I reported to my insurance company and understand they will contact hers and look at our cars to see if there is a claim - they will see there is NO damage and dismiss the whole thing. I KNOW by the way this maniac was acting, that she is a vindictive opportunist, who is hell-bent on putting the screws to me for nothing. Can she try to sue me for emotional stress if she can't for the non-existent damage?
 
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