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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA 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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