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Restitution/Diminished Value Report

LKG

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Long shot here but does any out there have any experience with someone purposefully damaging their vehicle and the restitution process? I fired an employee a month and a half ago and he came back a couple days later dunk out of his mind and smashed into two of our rigs with his old Chevy pickup. Mine was the JLU that I had ordered in January, she was only four months old. The police and the prosecutor told us we'd both be entitled to restitution but we still haven't been in touch with the restitution coordinator and I'm getting impatient, this process has been slow to say the least.

My other question, does anyone have experience with a Diminished Value Report? Do I need to pay for one of those for the restitution process? If, an I say if because I still don't know if it will be totaled, my Jeep is repaired, it will obviously be worth less and I really think I need to be compensated. Of course the restitution police should be able to answer all of this but like I said, I'm losing patience and the curiosity is killin me.

Thanks in advance for any advice. Oh and the heat finally broke last week, I should be driving around with my damn top off.
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Long shot here but does any out there have any experience with someone purposefully damaging their vehicle and the restitution process? I fired an employee a month and a half ago and he came back a couple days later dunk out of his mind and smashed into two of our rigs with his old Chevy pickup. Mine was the JLU that I had ordered in January, she was only four months old. The police and the prosecutor told us we'd both be entitled to restitution but we still haven't been in touch with the restitution coordinator and I'm getting impatient, this process has been slow to say the least.

My other question, does anyone have experience with a Diminished Value Report? Do I need to pay for one of those for the restitution process? If, an I say if because I still don't know if it will be totaled, my Jeep is repaired, it will obviously be worth less and I really think I need to be compensated. Of course the restitution police should be able to answer all of this but like I said, I'm losing patience and the curiosity is killin me.

Thanks in advance for any advice. Oh and the heat finally broke last week, I should be driving around with my damn top off.
I have no idea how they handle things in Idaho, so I just want to make clear that none of this is to be construed as legal advice, just friendly advice between strangers...
In California, the restitution process in criminal cases is very liberal, in favor of victims. Typically, you would want to document your losses in as much detail as possible. So that would bean get receipts, estimates, pictures, etc... that document the ACTUAL expenses you've incurred.

As far as diminished value, I would recommend you ask the coordinator how they handle those. Again, in California, I've seen something along these lines where an appraisal was done of a vehicle, and it explained the impact the accident had on vehicle value. It's entirely speculative, however. The impact on the value today, may not be as high in 5-10 years. It could get tricky proving that up if you aren't selling the vehicle now.

Often, a defendant will just agree to whatever amount is presented from our equivalent of a "restitution coordinator" and it's up to him/her or their attorney to request a restitution hearing to object to any amount requested. At that point, a judge would evaluate the claim and decide if it's fair or frivolous and set it at what they believe is correct.

TLDR: Get documentation and it can't hurt to get a diminished value report if they accept those in your jurisdiction.
 
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LKG

LKG

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Thank you, I really appreciate the response. Waiting for it to be built was rough but this really sucks.
 
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LKG

LKG

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Let your insurance company handle it. They know all the moves.
On that note, Oregon Mutual (my insurance co) has been fantastic to work with. State Farm (disgruntled employee), I'd give about a 2 out of 5. Then there's Farmers Insurance (the other rig), they have been terrible. The other guy's wife had to go full Karen on them to get a response.
 

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Every state is different and each carrier writes their own policies...so, ymmv.

First party claims, meaning a claim through your own insurance, may not cover diminished value. Therefor, if you use your insurance, they may not (will not) handle the restitution for diminished value.

Restitution is like subrogation. Restitution assigns an amount that person owes you for damages. If you're not out anything, because the insurance covered your loss, then they get restitution, not you. If you have a "loss" (monetary), the court will assign that loss to the criminal and they will set up a payment plan for you to receive compensation. They may even negotiate, if they can, with you to accept less than the total. So, if you're out your deductible, for example, of $500, they will ask if you're willing to accept 80% or $400...or they'll say the criminal has agreed to pay his/her debt at $100/month for 240 months so you'll get a check every month for $40...since he owes multiple folks.

If you think your vehicle is worth less because of the accident, no one will pay it without documentation. The amount it is valued varies though on age, so if you keep it five years, the amount of depreciation is far less than it is if you were going to trade it tomorrow. So, diminished value isn't a hard/set rule, and it's a moving target that is hard to prove. Did you really suffer some loss, or is it a perceived loss, or it is only a loss if you try to sell the vehicle...
 

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did you file through your ex employees insurance for repairs to your JL? it is his company that is responsible for diminished value to you. if you filed through YOUR policy, they will not pay you for diminished value.

google Billy Walkoviak, he is a dimished value specialist. flat rate fee. see if he is licensed in your state.
 

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...say the criminal has agreed to pay his/her debt at $100/month for 240 months so you'll get a check every month for $40...since he owes multiple folks.
That raises an interesting discussion point regarding the time value of money.

$40.00 x 240 = $9,600.00. That figure will have significantly less value in 20 years than it does today. Were I the plaintiff, it's possible that the only way I'd be inclined to sign off on such a payment plan is if my calculated loss, today, is $5K. The $4.6K difference would serve as de facto interest in recognizance of the diminished purchasing power that can be credibly extrapolated to occur.

If my actual loss is $9.6K, which in turn brought about the aforementioned calculation, I'd want more $$. The justification for a larger Ask is seemingly bulletproof: why compel me to take another loss, via inflation's insidious effect on a decades-long payment plan?

The apparent risk of rejecting such a drawn-out restitution plan is having to accept whatever the relevant authority then requires, or pursuing other penalties against the offender as the law allows, or perhaps establishing another form of restitution. Indentured servitude, perhaps?
 
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LKG

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did you file through your ex employees insurance for repairs to your JL? it is his company that is responsible for diminished value to you. if you filed through YOUR policy, they will not pay you for diminished value.

google Billy Walkoviak, he is a dimished value specialist. flat rate fee. see if he is licensed in your state.
My insurance jumped on it almost immediately but I had it transferred to his (State Farm) but when they told me they wouldn't be able to get it into a shop until November, I had them transfer it back. Now my preferred shop is telling me they may have to total it, they have some certification from Jeep and if Jeep doesn't have a "certified" repair process, they won't do it. Now I wait to see what Oregon Mutual (my insurance) comes up with. It's starting to look like I'm at the mercy of the restitution coordinator and how/when I would even see that $$.

I'll check out Billy, see if he's licensed in ID, thanks.
 
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LKG

LKG

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That raises an interesting discussion point regarding the time value of money.

$40.00 x 240 = $9,600.00. That figure will have significantly less value in 20 years than it does today. Were I the plaintiff, it's possible that the only way I'd be inclined to sign off on such a payment plan is if my calculated loss, today, is $5K. The $4.6K difference would serve as de facto interest in recognizance of the diminished purchasing power that can be credibly extrapolated to occur.

If my actual loss is $9.6K, which in turn brought about the aforementioned calculation, I'd want more $$. The justification for a larger Ask is seemingly bulletproof: why compel me to take another loss, via inflation's insidious effect on a decades-long payment plan?

The apparent risk of rejecting such a drawn-out restitution plan is having to accept whatever the relevant authority then requires, or pursuing other penalties against the offender as the law allows, or perhaps establishing another form of restitution. Indentured servitude, perhaps?
I guess that's my other question, if he is responsible for restitution, does that come in the form of garnished wages or would the county put a lien on his property and force him to pay it right away? If it's garnished wages, I may as well forget about it. I like the indentured servitude idea but I don't ever want to see his face ever again.
 

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So I'm still involved in a diminished value claim and it isn't the first one....here is what I know:

1. This varies from state to state
2. In Texas your insurance will not give you diminished value, you need to action the company representing the at-fault driver. You can't get DV from an incident that is your fault.
3. Yes you need a diminished value report, and your report guy can advise you how your state works, how the process goes, how much to expect (hint, it won't be what the report says, you will get maybe 80% of that)
 

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I was awarded and paid restitution directly from the court in full. The restitution was more than the insurance claim and I was paid the excess. I was told the person who damaged my vehicle was paying off the court on a monthly basis. The guy was drunk and broke all the windows, scratched the hood and driver’s door and tore the front leather seats (not my Jeep btw). He was sitting in the car smoking a cigar when the police showed up and evidently was well known to the police. Seems to be a lot of variables in this.
 
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LKG

LKG

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Every state is different and each carrier writes their own policies...so, ymmv.

First party claims, meaning a claim through your own insurance, may not cover diminished value. Therefor, if you use your insurance, they may not (will not) handle the restitution for diminished value.

Restitution is like subrogation. Restitution assigns an amount that person owes you for damages. If you're not out anything, because the insurance covered your loss, then they get restitution, not you. If you have a "loss" (monetary), the court will assign that loss to the criminal and they will set up a payment plan for you to receive compensation. They may even negotiate, if they can, with you to accept less than the total. So, if you're out your deductible, for example, of $500, they will ask if you're willing to accept 80% or $400...or they'll say the criminal has agreed to pay his/her debt at $100/month for 240 months so you'll get a check every month for $40...since he owes multiple folks.

If you think your vehicle is worth less because of the accident, no one will pay it without documentation. The amount it is valued varies though on age, so if you keep it five years, the amount of depreciation is far less than it is if you were going to trade it tomorrow. So, diminished value isn't a hard/set rule, and it's a moving target that is hard to prove. Did you really suffer some loss, or is it a perceived loss, or it is only a loss if you try to sell the vehicle...
The more I read, the more I'm thinking I'm going to get hosed. Thanks for the insight.
 
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LKG

LKG

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I was awarded and paid restitution directly from the court in full. The restitution was more than the insurance claim and I was paid the excess. I was told the person who damaged my vehicle was paying off the court on a monthly basis. Seems to be a lot of variables in this.
I was awarded and paid restitution directly from the court in full. The restitution was more than the insurance claim and I was paid the excess. I was told the person who damaged my vehicle was paying off the court on a monthly basis. Seems to be a lot of variables in this.
Too many variables, thanks for the input.
 
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LKG

LKG

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So I'm still involved in a diminished value claim and it isn't the first one....here is what I know:

1. This varies from state to state
2. In Texas your insurance will not give you diminished value, you need to action the company representing the at-fault driver. You can't get DV from an incident that is your fault.
3. Yes you need a diminished value report, and your report guy can advise you how your state works, how the process goes, how much to expect (hint, it won't be what the report says, you will get maybe 80% of that)
Good to know, now if I could ever talk to the restitution coordinator... Thanks for the info!
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