Blu

missyishere

You are an attorney, correct? 

I have a legal question for you.  If a defendant pays restitution money in a criminal case, is then ordered to pay in a civil suit, all the money paid from restitution is paid back?

In my mom's case: drunk driver pays $xxx for the duration after his criminal case is over.  We continue with possible civil proceedings.  We didn't have to reach a hearing, because we mediated and came to an agreement instead.  Anyway, the dram law and insurance companies were then the check writers.  The money he then paid to us in restitution was reimbursed since we received money through civil case.  

I guess I'm confused how this works, because in the end, the actual defendant never paid a dime.  

blu-eyedwife

I don't know about this exact situation, but in many cases the money paid by a defendant doesn't come from their pockets.  Insurance usually covers it - that's true for doctors, landlords, homeowners, contractors, drivers, etc.  In general, that's the purpose of having insurance.  Usually you can only get money from the actual wrongdoer if their actions aren't covered by insurance (like punitive damages).

I don't know the intricacies about a civil suit following a criminal  - I work on the civil side and haven't had to deal with that, but DH does criminal prosecution, so I'll see what he knows about it. It doesn't make sense to me logically that he would get reimbursed, but maybe that's part of his insurance agreement?  (When I was in court Friday one of the cases before me had an attorney arguing that insurance is required to pay any judgment imposed on the insured)

blu-eyedwife

Sorry - it's been crazy here.  I checked with DH on Tuesday night, but am just getting on to post about it.  He thinks it must be a state thing, because he says in California the driver wouldn't be getting reimbursed by insurance for criminal restitution.

missyishere

blueyedwife:

Sorry it's been crazy here.nbsp; I checked with DH on Tuesday night, but am just getting on to post about it.nbsp; He thinks it must be a state thing, because he says in California the driver wouldn't be getting reimbursed by insurance for criminal restitution.

Dammit, Iowa! The more I think about it, the more it pisses me off. Nothing I can do about it, but the fact the defendant will be reimbursed is ridiculous. Especially considering it's the loss of someone's life.