State v. Mills

Summary

The Oregon Court of Appeals reviewed a restitution award arising from damage to a police patrol car. The court held that the record did not establish that replacing the vehicle cost less than repairing it, as required by ORS 31.705(2)(a), and therefore vacated the restitution amounts awarded to City County Insurance Services and the City of Molalla. The court remanded for resentencing and otherwise affirmed.

Holdings

1. A restitution award for damaged property must be based on evidence establishing the objectively verifiable cost of repair or replacement, whichever is less. Because the record did not establish that replacing the patrol car for $31,168.75 cost less than repairing it, the trial court legally erred in awarding $22,578.25 to CCIS.
2. An insurer's reasonable business decision to replace a damaged vehicle does not, by itself, establish the amount of economic damages recoverable as criminal restitution under Oregon's restitution statutes.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court could award restitution based on the cost of replacing the damaged patrol car when the record did not establish that replacement was less costly than repair under ORS 31.705(2)(a).
2. Whether the trial court could award the City of Molalla the cost of rewiring the replacement patrol car as part of the restitution award.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded