You Break it, You Buy it Three Times- Recent California Case Redefines Restitution Awards
In a case that came out last week out of California's Third District Court of Appeal (People v. Stanley), the third district court of appeal decided that a court has the authority to calculate the restitution amount in a case involving vehicle damage to the cost of repair, even if that amount exceeds the replacement costs of the vehicle.
In this case, the appellant (the person appealing the ruling) was appealing the cost of fixing a 1975 pickup that appellant admitted vandalizing. The court ordered him to handover $2,800.00 to the victim, which was the estimate from the body repair shop, even though the victim only paid $950.00 for the truck a little over a year before.
Appellant fought the court's ruling on appeal, claiming the amount was excessive.
However, the court of appeal upheld the court's ruling finding that the statute allows the trial court to assess value of damaged property at replacement cost or actual cost of repair. (Pen. Code ยง 1202.4, subd. (f)(3)(A).) In essence, the court has the flexibility to choose can repair costs as long as they are not grossly disproportionate to replacement value.
