where guilt and responsibility mean nothing in filing a court action. I don't know the laws in your state but in mine, small claims comes by letter with no "you've been served", has a max. amount they can sue for(~3.5k here) and you can either accept the accusation and pay the man or agree to meet in court. You say you have insurance claims of guilt resting on the other guy but do you have the police report? Odds are this is a longshot by the other person but take it seriously and come prepared with anything you can muster showing his guilt. In some cases a "no response/no show" by you would mean an automatic win by the other guy so that may be his intention... for you to ignore the outlandish claim and him to win by default. Research your state laws if you haven't already. There may be some means for you to counter-sue and reclaim damages for him wasting your time. Good luck.