Can I sue the person who drove my car without insurance?

Yes

While you were vicariously held liable in damages to the other party who suffered damages due to the negligence of your nephew, he is legally liable to indemnify you for the amount you owe. If he doesn't want to pay you volundatrily, you can sue to recover that money.

You are going to have to sue your nephew if he won't voluntarily pay.

NOT LEGAL ADVICE. FOR EDUCATION AND INFORMATION ONLY. Mr. Rafter is licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the US Federal Courts in Virginia. There is no implied or actual attorney-client relationship arising from this education exchange. You should speak with an attorney licensed in your state, to whom you have provided all the facts before you take steps that may impact your legal rights. Mr. Rafter is under no obligation to answer subsequent emails or phone calls related to this matter.

Yes, you can sue your nephew. The Texas constitution guarantees all citizens free access to our courts. This means that anyone can sue anyone, at any time, anywhere, for any reason, for any amount of money and without first proving anything to anyone. However, filing a lawsuit and winning one are two entirely different things. Winning a lawsuit and actually recovering some money are also two entirely different things.

Depending on how much time has passed since the judgment was rendered against you, you may be able to get the judge to set it aside. However, you will definitely need to hire a lawyer for this. Also, because there is a strict time deadline for moving the court to set aside the judgment and the time frame is generally very short, you should consult a lawyer immediately. If the time for a motion for new trial has already run and the judgment is final, I'm afraid it does not matter now whether or not you justly owed the money; you apparently lost by default, so your liability has been judicially established.

If your nephew has some money and/or property, suing him might be worthwhile. Otherwise, I'm afraid you would be spending time, money and effort in pursuing a worthless claim. Again, you need to consult a lawyer about this.

Good luck.

You raise several questions, and I would need more facts to be sure about advising you. Generally you can't sue your nephew for using your car because he did so with permission. Even if he did not have insurance, you apparently did and your policy would cover the conduct of anyone driving it with permission. If you got "papers" notifying you that you had been sued you should have immediately forwarded them to your insurance company. If you had no insurance you should have hired a lawyer to answer the case, or as a last resort you should have filed an answer yourself denying responsibility for the negligent conduct of another. It appears that a default judgment was taken against you. Depending on how much time has elapsed since the judgment was signed you may have time to file a motion for new trial or an appeal. If no more than 6 months have expired you can appeal by "writ of error" which is a procedure best left to an attorney. You can sue your nephew for any damages to your car and for damages you have incurred because of his negligence. It may be, however, that any recovery from your nephew will be reduced by your own negligence in failing to respond to the lawsuit. THE LESSON TO BE LEARNED IS TO NEVER FAIL TO RESPOND TO ANY LEGAL NOTICE THAT YOU HAVE BEEN SUED. If I were you would make an appointment with a lawyer where you live any pay for 30 minutes to an hour's time for his advice. I agree that your nephew should be responsible, but if he will not voluntarily do so you will need to get a lawyer or if you are willing take him to court yourself. If the 3533 in your question is the amount of dollars you are out you can bring this claim yourself in small claims court. Michael J. Whitten