People v. The North River Ins. Co. CA2/8

Filed 9/24/20 P. v. The North River Ins. Co. CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION EIGHT THE PEOPLE, B297118

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. OSJ2121 v.

THE NORTH RIVER INSURANCE COMPANY et al.,

Defendants and Appellants.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Victoria B. Wilson, Judge. Affirmed.

Jefferson T. Stamp for Defendants and Appellants.

Mary C. Wickham, County Counsel, Adrian G. Gragas, Assistant County Counsel, and Kelsey C. Nau, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

_________________________

In this bail forfeiture case, The North River Insurance Company and Bad Boys Bail Bonds appeal an order denying their motion to set aside summary judgment, vacate forfeiture, and exonerate bail. Appellants contend the motion should have been granted because the judgment is void as it was not entered by the same judge who forfeited the bail in the first instance. We affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On February 28, 2017, appellant Bad Boys Bail Bonds, acting as agent for appellant The North River Insurance Company, posted a bail bond in the amount of $50,000 for defendant Gregorio Garcia. The bond was filed on March 3, 2017, securing Garcia’s release. On March 21, 2017, Garcia failed to appear and in open court Commissioner Harkavy ordered the bond forfeited. On May 23, 2018, Judge Christopher Lui entered summary judgment against appellants based on Commissioner Harkavy’s order of forfeiture. On November 15, 2018, appellants filed a motion to set aside summary judgment, vacate forfeiture, and exonerate the bond. On February 15, 2019, Judge Victoria B. Wilson denied the motion. This timely appeal followed. DISCUSSION The trial court’s denial of a motion to set aside an order of forfeiture is reviewed for abuse of discretion. When the facts are undisputed and only legal issues are involved, we conduct an independent review. (People v. International Fidelity Ins. Co. (2012) 204 Cal.App.4th 588, 592.)