PEOPLE v. BUSSER
Scott Busser appeals an order requiring him to pay restitution to his insurance carrier after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor hit and run (Veh. Code, § 20002, subd. (a)) and presenting a materially false statement to his insurance company (Pen. Code,[1] § 550, subd. (b)(1)), a felony. Busser's insurer, Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO), paid the repair costs from an accident involving Busser but later discovered Busser had lied about the circumstances of the accident. When he lied, Busser violated the terms of the insurance policy and provided GEICO with grounds to rescind the contract. However, GEICO would have been contractually obligated to pay all the repair costs from the collision if Busser had not lied about the facts of the accident. Thus, Busser's misrepresentation did not actually induce GEICO to provide coverage where there was none or to pay more in repair costs than it was otherwise obligated to pay under the contract. Nevertheless, the trial court ordered Busser to pay restitution to GEICO under subdivision (a)(3)(B) of section 1202.4 for the repair costs from the accident.[2] We conclude, based on the rule first stated in People v. Crow (1993) 6 Cal. 4th 952, 962 (Crow), the repair costs GEICO would have been obligated to pay if Busser had not presented a materially false statement are not losses resulting from the criminal offense under section 1202.4 because they are not attributable to Busser's criminal misrepresentation. Accordingly, Court reverse that part of the trial court's order requiring Busser to reimburse GEICO for the repair costs arising out of the accident.
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