DEMETRIOUS CYRUS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Cyrus appeals a restitution order stemming from his grand theft conviction. The Fourth District affirmed the restitution order, holding that testimony from an insurance claims adjuster was sufficient to establish the victim's loss by preponderance of the evidence, and that no offset of salvage value was required because the victim did not recover both the stolen property and insurance proceeds.
The court affirmed the restitution order, holding that the claims adjuster's testimony was sufficient to satisfy the state's burden of proving the loss amount by preponderance of the evidence because the insurance company is subrogated to the victim's rights. No offset of salvage value was required because the victim did not recover both the stolen property and insurance proceeds, thus avoiding a double recovery.
[1] A trial court may order a defendant to make restitution for damage or loss caused by the defendant's offense.
[2] The burden of demonstrating the loss sustained by the victim as a result of the offense is on the state attorney.
Previewing 2 of 6 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The burden of demonstrating the loss sustained by the victim as a result of the offense is on the state attorney.”
Establishes the foundational burden of proof requirement under section 775.089(7)
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceCyrus was convicted of grand theft. The state presented testimony from a State Farm claims adjuster regarding an insurance claim for a stolen and dama…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Grand Theft cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
We withdraw our previously issued opinion and substitute the following in its place. The appellant appeals that portion of his sentence for grand theft, in violation of sections 812.014(1) and 812.014(2)(c), Florida Statutes (1995), ordering him to pay restitution. Finding no abuse of discretion in the restitution order, we affirm.
Section' 775.089, Florida Statutes (1995), authorizes a trial court to order a defendant to make restitution for damage or loss caused by the defendant’s offense.
Section 775.089(7) provides that “[t]he burden of demonstrating the loss sustained by the victim as a result of the offense is on the state attorney.” Furthermore, “[t]he state is obliged to establish the amount of restitution only by the greater weight of the evidence, rather than to the exclusion of all reasonable doubt.” J.O.S. v. State, 668 So. 2d 1082, 1085 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996), approved, 689 So. 2d 1061 (Fla.1997).
In the present case, the state satisfied its burden through the testimony of the State Farm claims adjuster who was responsible for processing the insurance claim at issue. The appellant asserted that the claim amount was inflated and that there had been little to no damage to the stolen car. The appellant urges that the trial court erroneously accepted the claims adjuster’s testimony as to the insurance company’s loss in place of the victim’s testimony as to his own loss. It is well settled that an insurance company is subrogated to the rights of the victim/insured. See L.S. v. State, 593 So. 2d 296, 297 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992); Longo v. State, 580 So. 2d 212, 215 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991).
In the present case, the state presented the testimony of the claims adjuster who had been primarily responsible for the victim’s claim and therefore had personal knowledge of the claim and its payment. Because the insurance company, who paid the claim, is subrogated to the rights of the victim and victims may testify to the value of their loss, see Anderson v. State, 649 So. 2d 890, 890 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995), we see no reason why the claims adjuster’s testimony was not sufficient to satisfy the state’s burden of proving the amount by a preponderance of the evidence. The state met its burden in the present case, especially in light of the fact that the appellant failed to present any testimony as to an alternative amount of restitution.
The appellant relies on Bowman v. State, 698 So. 2d 615, 616 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997), but we find that ease distinguishable from the case at bar. In Bowman, the issue involved the offset of salvage value from the value of the property returned to the victim. The second district reversed the restitution order, holding that where stolen property is recovered, the restitution order must offset the salvage value of the property recovered. See id. The victim/insured in Bowman had recovered both his stolen ear, which was discovered by the police when they arrested the defendant, and his insurance claim amount from his insurer. Where the vehicle was recovered, the second district required the insurance comp.any claims adjuster, who testified at the restitution hearing, to offset the amount of the car’s salvage value from the amount of restitution sought. See id.
The present case is clearly distinguishable from Bowman. In the case at bar, the victim did not recover both the stolen property and the insurance proceeds. While in Bowman the inequitable possibility of a double recovery by the insured existed, in the present case it does not. “The purpose of restitution is to make the victim whole, not to make him better off than before the theft.” Id. Here, the victim/insured lost part' of the value of his ear when it was stolen and damaged, the insurer paid for the repairs, and the victim/insured received back exactly what he had owned before the theft. Accordingly, we affirm the restitution order in its entirety.
Affirmed.
GLICKSTEIN, DELL and WARNER, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Lawton Robert Walker v. State, 919 So. 2d 501 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005)…1998), we affirmed an order awarding an insurance company restitution in the amounts it had paid to its insured, the victim. Our sister courts have held “that an insurance company is subro-gated to the rights of the victim/insured,” Cyrus v. State, 712 So. 2d 811, 812 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998), making the defendant responsible for restitution to the insurance company. See State v. Williams, 689 So. 2d 1233, 1234 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997); L.S. v. State, 593 So. 2d 296, 297 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992); M.E.I. v. State, 525 So. 2d…
-
Snoha v. State, 895 So. 2d 523 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005)…PER CURIAM. AFFIRMED. See Cyrus v. State, 712 So. 2d 811 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998); Dixon v. State, 601 So. 2d 606 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992). SHARP,' W., PLEUS and TORPY, JJ., concur. ,…
-
Hunter v. State, 937 So. 2d 1175 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006)…PER CURIAM. AFFIRMED. See Cyrus v. State, 712 So. 2d 811, 812 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998); Trox-ell v. State, 662 So. 2d 1014, 1015-16 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995). THOMPSON, PALMER and LAWSON, JJ., concur.…
Authorities Cited
- Anderson v. State, 649 So. 2d 890 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)
- J.O.S. v. State, 689 So. 2d 1061 (Fla. 1997)
- Bowman v. State, 698 So. 2d 615 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997)
- L.S. v. State, 593 So. 2d 296 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992)
- Longo v. State, 580 So. 2d 212 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)
- Jackson v. State, 668 So. 2d 1082 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996)
- J.O.S. v. State, 668 So. 2d 1082 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996)