People v. Int'l Fid. Ins. Co.

• Citation: 20 Cal.App.5th 345,229 Cal.Rptr.3d 69
• Decision Date: 08 February 2018
• Docket Number: A145993
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. INTERNATIONAL FIDELITY INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant and Appellant.

20 Cal.App.5th 345

229 Cal.Rptr.3d 69

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.INTERNATIONAL FIDELITY INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant and Appellant.

A145993

Court of Appeal, First District, Division 2, California.

Filed February 8, 2018

Law Office of John M. Rorabaugh, John M. Rorabaugh, Fresno, Robert Tomlin White, San Diego, for Appellant

Office of County Counsel Peter K. Finck, Deputy County Counsel for Respondent

Kline, P.J.

When a convicted defendant who had been released on bail failed to appear for sentencing, the trial court ordered bail forfeited and entered a summary judgment against the surety, International Fidelity Insurance Company. The surety appeals from the denial of its motion to discharge the order of forfeiture, set aside the summary judgment and exonerate bail, arguing that county counsel lacked standing to object to the surety's request for tolling of the time period to secure the defendant's appearance, the trial court should be authorized to toll that period in the circumstances presented by this case, and the court lacked jurisdiction to declare the forfeiture of bail prior to the time the defendant had been ordered to appear. Although we disagree with the first two of these arguments, the third requires us to reverse the judgment.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE AND FACTS

On November 19, 2013, Horacio Carlos Teran (defendant) was found guilty of three counts of lewd or lascivious acts against a child under the age of 14 years ( Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (a) ).¹ The defendant was remanded to custody with bail increased to $300,000, the matter was continued to 10:00 a.m. on January 24, 2014, for sentencing, and the defendant was ordered to appear "on that date." On November 22, 2013, Metro One Bail Bonds, Inc. (Metro One), as agent for International Fidelity Insurance Company (International Fidelity), posted a bail bond in the amount of $300,000. The bail bond face sheet and jail receipt state the date and time for the defendant's appearance as 10:00 a.m. on January 24, 2014.

On January 21, 2014, the court re-set the sentencing hearing for 9:00 a.m. on January 24, 2014.

On January 24, 2014, when the hearing began at 9:18 a.m., attorney Mike Armstrong requested permission to substitute in for the defendant's attorney of record, Patrick Clancy. The defendant was not present. The prosecutor asked the court to order a no-bail warrant and when the court asked where the defendant was, Armstrong said he did not know. Armstrong explained that after being convicted, the defendant asked him to replace Clancy for sentencing and Armstrong agreed, but before he could have the substitution of attorney prepared for the defendant to sign, the defendant "disappeared."² He further stated that the defendant's wife had reported him as a missing person in December, and that on the date scheduled for the defendant's probation hearing, Armstrong had called the probation officer and said he had no idea where the defendant was. Armstrong told the court he understood the prosecutor's request and submitted. The court ordered bail forfeited and no bail set, and denied the substitution motion. On February 10, 2014, a bench warrant issued and notice of the order forfeiting bail was filed and mailed to International Fidelity and Metro One. The notice informed the surety that it had 185 days to seek relief from forfeiture in accordance with sections 1305 and 1306.

On August 7, 2014, the court granted Metro One's motion to extend the time for relief from forfeiture until February 10, 2015.³

On February 9, 2015, International Fidelity filed the motion to toll time at issue in the present appeal. International Fidelity stated that it had tracked the defendant to Mexico and provided information from its investigation to law enforcement authorities; that extradition was being pursued; that it was requesting tolling of the statutory deadline to produce the defendant "in order to continue its efforts to monitor the defendant's location while law enforcement authorities continue their extradition efforts"; and that the district attorney's office had indicated it would agree to tolling. The motion was opposed by county counsel on the ground that International Fidelity had not met all the requirements of the governing statute, section 1305, subdivision (h). That statute allows the prosecutor and bail agent, in "cases arising under subdivision (g)," to agree to toll the time period within which the surety can obtain discharge of the bail forfeiture and exoneration of the bond because additional time is needed "to return the defendant to the jurisdiction of the court." Subdivision (g) provides for exoneration of a bail bond where a defendant who is outside the jurisdiction of the court and not in custody is "temporarily detained by the bail agent" and positively identified by a local law enforcement officer and the prosecutor elects not to seek extradition. County counsel argued that International Fidelity had not shown compliance with the requirements of subdivision (g), and therefore subdivision (h) did not apply.

At a hearing on April 23, 2015, the deputy district attorney stated that she wanted the defendant found and that her office was willing to work on extradition, but that this was "not [her] area of the law," she did not research the issue because it was "between County Counsel and the bail company" and she deferred to county counsel on the legal issues. The prosecutor told the court she had worked with the Department of Justice on the paperwork for an Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution (UFAP) warrant, was still sorting through additional extradition paperwork she had been given, and had not made "any formal agreement" with the bail agency.

The trial court denied the motion to toll time on the ground that section 1305, subdivision (h), did not apply. On April 29, the court filed its order granting summary judgment against International Fidelity and in favor of the People of the State of California in the amount of $300,000, pursuant to section 1306.

International Fidelity filed a motion to set aside the summary judgment, vacate forfeiture and exonerate bail, on the grounds that the court lacked jurisdiction to declare a forfeiture before 10:00 a.m. on January 24, 2014, the time the defendant had been ordered to appear, and that the summary judgment was entered prematurely. The motion was opposed by county counsel and denied after a hearing on August 7, 2015.

International Fidelity filed a timely notice of appeal on August 14, 2015.

DISCUSSION

"The forfeiture of bail and related proceedings are a matter of statutory procedure governed by sections 1305 through 1308." ( People v. Safety National Casualty Corp. (2016) 62 Cal.4th 703, 709, 199 Cal.Rptr.3d 272, 366 P.3d 57 ( Safety National ).) "When a person for whom a bail bond has been posted fails without sufficient excuse to appear as required, the trial court must declare a forfeiture of the bond. ( Pen. Code, § 1305, subd. (a).) The surety that posted the bond then has a statutory ‘appearance’ period in which either to produce the accused in court and have the forfeiture set aside, or to demonstrate other circumstances requiring the court to vacate the forfeiture. If the forfeiture is not set aside by the end of the appearance period, the court is required to enter summary judgment against the surety. (§ 1306, subd. (a).)" ( People v. American Contractors Indemnity Co. (2004) 33 Cal.4th 653, 657, 16 Cal.Rptr.3d 76, 93 P.3d 1020, fn. omitted.)

" ‘ "Certain fixed legal principles guide us in the construction of bail statutes. The law traditionally disfavors forfeitures and this disfavor extends to forfeiture of bail. [Citation.] Thus, [the bail forfeiture statutes] must be strictly construed in favor of the surety to avoid the harsh results of a forfeiture. [Citation.]" ’ ( People v. Ranger Ins. Co. (2000) 77 Cal.App.4th 813, 816 ....) ‘The standard of review, therefore, compels us to protect the surety, and more importantly the individual citizens who pledge to the surety their property on behalf of persons seeking release from custody, in order to obtain the corporate bond.’ ( County of Los Angeles v. Surety Ins. Co. (1984) 162 Cal.App.3d 58, 62 .)" ( People v. American Contractors Indemnity Co. (2015) 238 Cal.App.4th 1041, 1044, 189 Cal.Rptr.3d 881.) "The provisions of section 1305 ‘must be strictly followed or the court acts without or in excess of its jurisdiction. [Citation.]’ ( People v. American Bankers Ins. Co. [ (1992) ] 4 Cal.App.4th [348,] 354 .) ‘The burden is upon the bonding company seeking to set aside the forfeiture to establish by competent evidence that its case falls within the four corners of these statutory requirements.’ ( Ibid. ; accord, County of Los Angeles v. Fairmont Specialty Group (2008) 164 Cal.App.4th 1018, 1027 .)" ( People v. Fairmont Specialty Group (2009) 173 Cal.App.4th 146, 152, 92 Cal.Rptr.3d 516.)

" ‘The object of bail and its forfeiture is to insure the attendance of the accused and his obedience to the orders and judgment of the court.’ ( People v. Wilcox (1960) 53 Cal.2d 651, 656–657 [2 Cal.Rptr. 754, 349 P.2d 522].) ‘While bail bond proceedings occur in connection with criminal prosecutions, they are independent from and collateral to the prosecutions and are civil in nature.’ ( People v. American Contractors Indemnity Co. [, supra, ] 33 Cal.4th [at p.] 657 [16 Cal.Rptr.3d 76, 93 P.3d 1020].) In that regard, the bail bond itself is a ‘ "contract between the surety and the government whereby the surety acts as a guarantor of the defendant's appearance in court under the risk of forfeiture of the bond." ’ ( Ibid. ) When a defendant who posts bail fails to appear at a scheduled hearing, the forfeiture of bail implicates not just the defendant's required presence, but constitutes a ‘breach of this contract’ between the surety and the government. ( Id. at pp. 657–658 [16 Cal.Rptr.3d 76, 93 P.3d 1020].) Ultimately, if the defendant's nonappearance is without...