Insurance credit in criminal restitution case affirmed

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A woman who pleaded guilty to drunken driving and was ordered to pay restitution to a victim hurt as a result of a crash was entitled to use insurance proceeds to pay the court-ordered damages, the Court of Appeals ruled Friday.

The court affirmed an Allen County judgment in Randolph Kelley v. State of Indiana and Paige A. Devlin, 02A03-1308-CR-329. Paige Devlin pleaded guilty to Class D felony operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury and misdemeanor illegal consumption of alcohol. She was ordered to pay $59,974 in restitution due to serious injuries Randolph Kelley suffered after his car and Devlin’s collided.

In a related civil suit, Kelley agreed to settle with Devlin for her $50,000 insurance policy limit. Over Kelley’s objections, the civil court ruled that Kelley had signed an unambiguous release and Devlin was entitled to a $50,000 credit based on the insurance payment, leaving an outstanding restitution amount of $9.974.87.

“(W) e conclude that the criminal court did not commit reversible error when it granted Devlin a credit toward the restitution order based on her insurer’s payment of damages pursuant to a civil settlement," Judge Ezra Friedlander wrote for the court.
 

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