People v. Calhoun

Opinion

BROWN (Gerald), P. J.

In August 1979, Sandra Calhoun, while driving under the influence of alcohol, ran her car into two parked cars, damaging the cars and injuring the passengers in her car. In January 1980, Calhoun pleaded nolo contendere to drunk driving causing injury to another (former Veh. Code, § 23101, subd. (a)). She received probation on several conditions, one of which required her to pay restitution of $1,386.15 to the owners of the two damaged cars. The amount of the restitution order was based on the portion of the repair costs for which the owners of the cars were not compensated by their insurance companies. No restitution was ordered to reimburse the insurance company which paid a claim as a result of the accident. The insurance company sued Calhoun to recover its loss.

After the probation order was entered and the insurance company filed its suit, Calhoun filed for bankruptcy and was granted a discharge of all her debts. Included in her bankruptcy petition’s schedule of debts were her restitution obligation to the probation department and the potential judgment in favor of the insurance company. After she was granted the discharge, the probation department requested the restitution order be modified to require Calhoun to reimburse the insurance company as well as the car owners. Calhoun argued the entire restitution order should be rescinded because it had been discharged in bankruptcy, and in the alternative, nothing should be paid to the insurance company because it was not a “victim” of her crime. The superior court found the discharge in bankruptcy has no effect on the restitution order, but due to Calhoun’s low income, the court refused the probation department’s request to increase the restitution obligation. The court did, however, modify the probation order to require some of the money payable to one of the car owners to be paid to her insurance company instead because the owner had told the court she would receive less money from her insurance company than she actually did. The final restitution order, therefore, provides for the owners of the damaged cars to receive all of their out-of-pocket loss but the insurance company will receive less than one-fourth of the amount it paid out.

Calhoun appeals, contending the superior court erred in finding the restitution order was not discharged in bankruptcy and in awarding some restitution to the insurance company.

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