Auto Insurance Claims: Billed for a rental car Loss of Use Charge in California (is this LEGAL?), exotic car rental, club sportiva

Question
QUESTION: My question involves insurance law for the state of: California

I got into a single vehicle accident in an exotic car rental.  My insurance has fully paid out ~$16K worth of damages to the vehicle.  However on the original rental contract, there is a $5k wreck fee associated with car rentals for loss of use.  Here is the relevant portion of that contract

LOSS OF USE - In the event of any damage to a Vehicle requiring repair, a loss of use fee shall be charged.  This fee is calculated as one (1) day's weekend rental fee per week the Vehicle is out of service up to one (1) month, after which the Wreck Fee applies, as set forth below.

WRECK FEE - In the event of any damage to a Vehicle in excess of minor damage, as set forth below, as a result of accident or otherwise, the Client must pay a fee in the amount of $5000 if the Client is found to be at fault.  This fee is NOT part of an insurance deductible, but instead a paid deposit to Club Sportiva for added Vehicle depreciation due to damage and inconvenience to other Clients during repairs.  Club Sportiva also reserves the right to bill for loss of use if Vehicle "down time" exceeds a reasonable repair time.

My insurance would not cover my liability for that fee, but has pointed out that they cannot legally charge me this according to California Civil Code 1936 section c).  The current bill seems very vague about loss of use charges, but section c) and d) implies that they cannot legally charge me for liability beyond the repair of the vehicle.  The only thing that I'm not sure about is in subsection 3) of section d), it states:

(3) A claim against a renter resulting from damage or loss,
excluding loss of use, to a rental vehicle shall be reasonably and
rationally related to the actual loss incurred. 

I'm not sure what they mean by loss of use here and I'm not sure whether this means I am liable for this or not.  But I do know in 2001, loss of use was explicitly removed from section b) of 1936.
Do I have a case to get my money back in court?

Any help is much appreciated, thanks!

Here is a link to the current civil code 1936
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/calawquery?codesection=civ&codebody=1936&hits=

ANSWER: Hi Tony,

I am not an attorney and therefore can not provide you with a legal opinion on the specific law that you have cited.

However, I can tell you that there is a difference between what they can do based on the law and what thay can do based on the contract that you entered into, signed and agreed to. It is possible that the law disallows them from charging you this excessive fee but that law may be negated by the fact that you signed a contract agreeing to the charge.

I hope you understand the problem here. You really need to ask this question of a licensed California attorney even if you have to pay for an hour of his time. It would be worth it considering you have 5K at risk.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh  

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hmm how do you determine what trumps what?  Do all contracts trump law?  In other words, can you make a contract for something that is illegal?

Answer
Hi Tony,

No you can not make a contract for something that ios illegal. However there are situations that when a person enters into a contract, the terms of the contract can trump law.

As I said in the beginning, I am not an attorney. Perhaps you should pose this question to a licensed California attorney. In your case it would be worth a couple hundred bucks to to get to the bottom line.

Good luck
Richard Hixenbaugh