People v. American Contractors Indemnity Co. CA4/3

Filed 11/7/14 P. v. American Contractors Indemnity Co. CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G050070

v. (Super. Ct. Nos. CIVRS1206370 & FWV1100893) AMERICAN CONTRACTORS INDEMNITY COMPANY, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Bernardino County, Michael R. Libutti, Judge. Reversed and remanded with directions. E. Alan Nunez for Defendant and Appellant. Jean-Rene Basle, County Counsel and John R. Tubbs II, Deputy County Counsel for Plaintiff and Respondent. * * *

This is a bail bond exoneration case. On April 2, 2011, appellant American Contractors Indemnity Company (American Contractors) posted a bail bond for Jonathan Gomez Covarrubias. Covarrubias failed to appear in court on June 6, 2011, so the bail was ordered forfeited. (See Pen. Code, § 1305, subd. (a).1) The notice of forfeiture was mailed to the bail agent on June 7, 2011. The bail agent then contacted an investigator to find Covarrubias. Under section 1305, a bail bond company has a 185-day grace period to bring the defendant back to court before the company actually has to pay the bond. (See § 1305, subd. (c); People v. Seneca Ins. Co. (2010) 189 Cal.App.4th 1075, 1079 (Seneca).) However, the initial 185-day reprieve is subject to a one-time extension of 180 days under section 1305.4. (See Seneca, supra, 189 Cal.App.4th at p. 1082.) The applicable language from section 1305.4 on the timing of the extension is: “The court, upon a hearing and a showing of good cause, may order the period extended to a time not exceeding 180 days from its order.” The bail company gets an extra five days because the notice of forfeiture is mailed to it. (See Code Civ. Proc., § 1013.)2 In this case, American Contractors filed a motion for a 180-day extension under section 1305.4 on November 22, 2011, which was timely under the terms of the statute. (See § 1305, subd. (j) [“A motion filed in a timely manner within the 180-day period may be heard within 30 days of the expiration of the 180-day period.”].) The bail agent asked for “an order extending the 180-day period on [the bail bond]” which the court had earlier “ordered forfeited.”