Victim of burglary felony: upcoming restitution hearing

[sdlegal]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

I am a business owner and was the victim of a burglary. The criminal was caught and pleaded guilty. I was informed by the district attorney that I need to provide an itemization of my losses to prove my financial loss and to secure an order of restitution. My question is, if I have already been reimbursed (not fully but partially) by my insurance company, what should I list for the losses? Some of the stolen items were property of others which I don't have receipts for (I do have the original owner information). Also, the damage caused to my business almost put me under (both emotionally and financially due to lost customers). How do you put a price on that? I also had to work double overtime myself for weeks but as the business owner I don't get paid hourly so I have no way to provide documentation on that.

In other words, what can I submit here? Thank you in advance for the reply!

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

I am a business owner and was the victim of a burglary. The criminal was caught and pleaded guilty. I was informed by the district attorney that I need to provide an itemization of my losses to prove my financial loss and to secure an order of restitution. My question is, if I have already been reimbursed (not fully but partially) by my insurance company, what should I list for the losses? Some of the stolen items were property of others which I don't have receipts for (I do have the original owner information). Also, the damage caused to my business almost put me under (both emotionally and financially due to lost customers). How do you put a price on that? I also had to work double overtime myself for weeks but as the business owner I don't get paid hourly so I have no way to provide documentation on that.

In other words, what can I submit here? Thank you in advance for the reply!

Following is a link to a comprehensive look at restitution in California, written by Deborah Prucha of the non-profit Central California Appellate Program. The information provided covers what can and cannot be recovered in the way of restitution if you are the victim of a crime in California:

http://www.capcentral.org/criminal/guilty_plea/docs/restitution.doc

 

[sdlegal]

Great link, thanks! Pertinent points:

Property – victims have a right to restitution for the value of stolen or damaged property, defined as replacement cost of like property or the cost of repair, if repair is possible. Restitution for damaged property that can be repaired is the lesser of market value before crime minus the value after crime or reasonable cost of repairing property to condition before the damage by defendant. (I did not receive any property back, so it's replacement, but what if the item is no longer on the market/discontinued? Am I to provide an estimated value of what it's currently worth in today's market? And again, it doesn't say specifically, but property of others would be included here I assume, even though no actual receipts exist?)

Victim entitled to restitution regardless of whether victim has submitted loss to insurer. The deductible amount the victim paid is not the loss; it is the full amount of loss. (So to confirm, this means even though I am getting reimbursement from insurance, I can still submit the full loss?).

 

[davew128]

I think you'll find that a condition of the insurance claim and payment is the right to subrogation with amounts you received as restitution, so that anything beyond your deductible would be payable to the insurance company by you.

 

[sdlegal]

That makes sense, but:

1. I am no longer with the insurance provider.
2. Provider was horrible to deal with, didn't pay the full amount I requested and actually never fulfilled their obligation to pay for all the damages, stolen property, etc.
3. What they told me is that they work with the police and try to recover, but they never mentioned anything about expecting to be repaid by the victim (me). I would have to review the contract.
4. I discovered additional stolen items that were not part of the original claim that are too late to submit now.

 

[single317dad]

That makes sense, but:

1. I am no longer with the insurance provider.
2. Provider was horrible to deal with, didn't pay the full amount I requested and actually never fulfilled their obligation to pay for all the damages, stolen property, etc.
3. What they told me is that they work with the police and try to recover, but they never mentioned anything about expecting to be repaid by the victim (me). I would have to review the contract.
4. I discovered additional stolen items that were not part of the original claim that are too late to submit now.

What happens many times in those cases is that the victim divides the restitution as they see fit (usually claiming most or all of the settlement for themselves). If/when the insurance company learns of the situation, a civil suit follows, which the insurer almost always wins.

The insurance company is probably entitled to most or all of what it paid you. Any other outcome will likely require a legal battle.

Method of calculation for value lost is provided in the quotation you shared: value of the property before the crime (not today), minus the value after the crime (zero if you didn't recover the property).

So, if they stole $500 in cash and it wasn't recovered, your loss is $500. If they stole a $30,000 vase, and it was recovered with a chip that lowered the value to $18,000, your loss is $12,000.

 

[sdlegal]

Thank you.

Question on restitution: based on other threads I've read on this site, some people never get paid, or get paid small amounts, say $50 a month, etc. It can go on for years. There are all kinds of scenarios. I've never read about getting paid in one lump sum.

So again, how can insurance company collect from victim when victim is getting perhaps only a small amount over the course of many years, etc.