Alger v. Com.

• Decision Date: 22 November 1994
• Docket Number: No. 0404-93-4,0404-93-4
• Citation: 450 S.E.2d 765,19 Va.App. 252
• Parties: Terry Alton ALGER v. COMMONWEALTH of Virginia. Record
• Court: Virginia Court of Appeals

Page 765

450 S.E.2d 765

19 Va.App. 252

Terry Alton ALGER v. COMMONWEALTH of Virginia.

Record No. 0404-93-4.

Court of Appeals of Virginia.

Nov. 22, 1994.

Robert R. Donlan, Luray (Robert R. Donlan, P.C., on brief), for appellant.

H. Elizabeth Shaffer, Asst. Atty. Gen. (James S. Gilmore, III, Atty. Gen., on brief), for appellee.

Present: MOON, C.J., BAKER, J., and DUFF, Senior Judge.

MOON, Chief Judge.

Terry Alton Alger entered guilty pleas to three counts of common law burglary, three counts of statutory burglary, seven counts of grand larceny, and one count of felonious destruction of property. The trial judge ordered a presentence report which, along with victim impact statements, was properly filed before the sentencing hearing. A portion of Alger's sentence was suspended in part upon condition that he make restitution. On appeal, Alger contends the court erred (1) in ordering restitution to insurance companies for any amount they paid the victims of his crimes, and (2) in determining the amount of restitution from evidence contained in the victim impact statements attached to the presentence report. We hold that the court properly ordered restitution to the insurance companies and did not err in relying upon evidence contained in the victim impact statements.

Alger's attorney received the presentence report six days before the sentencing hearing on January 25, 1993. Alger's counsel told the judge that he had reviewed the report and had been given "a sufficient period of time to discuss the contents with the defendant." He declined the opportunity to cross-examine the probation officer who had prepared the report. Counsel proffered for Alger that Alger had a $600 per month child support obligation and had been suspended from his job and expected to be terminated. When the judge then stated that he had not seen an offer of restitution from Alger, Alger's counsel stated "my client is certainly prepared to make restitution as may be ordered by the court." Before imposing sentence, the judge stated:

I am going to order restitution in these cases, generally. For those that were covered by insurance, I am going to order the restitution in the amount of the insurance. If there is anything that is not covered, where there is a discrepancy between what the insurance company paid and what the victim claims, they can address that with civil proceedings.

The judge then sentenced the defendant to a total of seventy years with all but ten years suspended on the condition, among others, that Alger make restitution. When the judge took up the matter of restitution, Alger's counsel objected to any restitution beyond the deductible amount that the insurance carriers had not paid the direct victims. Counsel stated there was no authority for the court to order restitution to insurance carriers, and counsel also objected to the amounts of restitution claimed by the insurance companies. Counsel stated that it was possible that the victims had inflated their claims to the insurance companies. The judge called for any proof of the alleged inflation and advised counsel that the matter had been set for hearing on the presentence report and that if Alger had wished to contest the evidence in the presentence report he could have subpoenaed persons mentioned in the report or produced evidence. Alger's counsel contended that he did not realize that the court would be considering making restitution to the insurance carriers and that the Commonwealth should have to prove the amount with live witnesses. The court disallowed some of the claims of the victims which for the most part were for remote or indirect losses as opposed to direct losses. The judge ordered restitution in the full amount paid by the insurance companies, with allowance for proven salvage and recovery, and payment to the victims of their deductible amounts, and some other items not covered by insurance.

First, we turn to whether it is proper for a court to order restitution to an insurance carrier.

Code § 19.2-305.1. provides in pertinent part:

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person convicted of a crime in violation of any provision in Title 18.2, ... which resulted in property damage or loss, shall be placed on probation or have his sentence suspended unless such person shall make at least partial restitution for such property damage or loss,....

Alger maintains the court is powerless to order restitution to an insurance company because a corporation is not an "individual" who has suffered economic harm as a "direct result of the commission of a felony," as defined in Code § 19.2-299.1, the victim impact statute. He maintains that the insurance companies are neither "victims" nor "aggrieved parties" within the meaning of those terms in Code § 19.2-303, concerning probation and the permissible conditions thereof. ¹

If we accepted Alger's claim that these statutes prohibit a corporation from being an "individual" to whom restitution may be ordered because it is neither a victim nor an aggrieved party, such an interpretation would render meaningless the provision of Code § 19.2-305.1 stating that "[n]otwithstanding any other provision restitution must be ordered," or lead to the absurd result that one who is convicted of stealing from a corporation may not be placed on probation.

Long before victim impact statements were mandated (Code § 19.2-299.1 adopted in 1984) and specific statutes regarding restitution were adopted, courts were ordering restitution. See Payne v. Commonwealth, 222 Va. 485, 281 S.E.2d 873 (1981); Revell v. Commonwealth, 215 Va. 708, 213 S.E.2d 756 (1975). To follow Alger's argument, we would have to hold that the legislature intended to curtail the class of victims to whom restitution could be ordered.

Code § 19.2-299.1 defines victim as "an individual ... who has suffered ... economic harm" from the crimes. A corporation may be the "victim" of a robbery, although the agents or employees are the direct victims. See Crawford v. Commonwealth, 217 Va. 595, 231 S.E.2d 309 (1977).

An insurance carrier, that has paid a theft or casualty claim as a result of the wrongdoing of a criminal defendant, stands in the place of the victim and may in the name of the victim pursue a civil claim against the third party. See Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. v. Jewel Tea Co., 202 Va. 527, 118 S.E.2d 646 (1961).

Even if we accept some ambiguity having been left by the adoption in 1984 of statutes dealing with restitution, statutes addressing the same subject are to be read in pari materia. See Lillard v. Fairfax County Airport Authority, 208 Va. 8, 12, 155 S.E.2d 338, 342 (1967). In pari materia is the rule of statutory construction that "statutes which relate to the same subject matter should be read, construed and applied together so that the legislature's intention can be gathered from the whole of the enactments." Black's Law Dictionary 791 (6th ed. 1990).

We construe the statutes as declaring a legislative intent to provide for restitution for the victims of crimes, including corporations. We cannot conclude that the legislature intended by the most recent legislation to limit the power of the courts to order restitution.

Other states considering this issue have construed "aggrieved party" and "victim" to include both the insurance company of the party from whom property was stolen and the insured whose property was stolen or damaged. See, e.g., People v. Foster, 14 Cal.App.4th 939, 18 Cal.Rptr.2d 1, 8 (1993); State v. Froneberger, 81 N.C.App. 398, 344 S.E.2d 344, 348 (1986); People v. Smith, 754 P.2d 1168, 1171 (Colo.1988).

Next, we turn to whether the court erred in relying upon the victim impact statements in fixing the amount of restitution.

Code § 19.2-299(A) provides:

When a person is tried upon a felony charge ... the court may, ... before imposing sentence direct a probation officer to thoroughly investigate and report of the accused's ... criminal record ..., and all other relevant facts, to fully advise the court so the court may determine the appropriate sentence to be imposed. The probation officer, after having furnished a copy of this report at least five days prior to sentencing to counsel for the accused and the attorney for the Commonwealth for their permanent use, shall submit his report in advance of the sentencing hearing to the judge in chambers,.... The...