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People v. Fulton6/12/2003
collection of restitution permitted under the statute.
This interpretation is consistent with the meaning and purpose of the entire statutory scheme. The Legislature mandated that trial courts order restitution in an amount that will "fully reimburse" the victim for economic losses, such as property damage and medical expenses, caused by the defendant's criminal conduct. (§ 1202.4, subd. (f)(3).) However, a victim who suffers these economic losses would not be fully reimbursed if he or she was required to bear the expense of an attorney to recover for that damage. Recognizing this, the Legislature provided for the victim's recovery of reasonable attorney fees incurred to collect economic damages. But the Legislature additionally made an express policy determination that non-economic damages are not recoverable as restitution and therefore a victim will not be reimbursed for those losses. From this rule, it rationally follows that the Legislature did not perceive a need for a victim to recover attorney fees incurred to collect non-economic damages in order for the victim to fully recover restitution under the statute. A contrary conclusion would mean that a victim who suffers only non-economic loss would be entitled to recover as restitution all attorney fees incurred to recover that loss, but the same victim could not obtain restitution for any of the underlying non-economic damages. Likewise, under the Attorney General's interpretation of the restitution statute, a victim who incurs only a small amount of economic damage but sustains substantial non-economic damages would be potentially entitled to a large attorney fee award that has no meaningful relationship to the restitution for the underlying damages. We decline to interpret the statute in such an incongruous fashion.
Accordingly, we hold that under the plain meaning and express purpose of section 1202.4, subdivision (f)(3)(H), actual and reasonable attorney fees incurred by a victim as a result of the defendant's criminal conduct are recoverable as restitution, but they are limited to reasonable attorney fees incurred to collect restitution otherwise permitted under the statute.
This conclusion does not mean that a victim is prohibited from recovering attorney fees if those fees are incurred to recover both economic and non-economic losses. Because the Legislature has directed that a victim be "fully reimburse " for economic losses (§ 1202.4, subds. (f) & (g)), it would be improper to reduce the attorney fees incurred to obtain economic damages merely because those same attorney fees also led to the recovery of nonrecoverable damages (e.g., pain and suffering damages). Moreover, because of the strong public policy seeking to provide crime victims with direct restitution for all the "losses they suffer" (Cal. Const., art. I, § 28, subd. (b)), when fees cannot be reasonably divided between the pursuit of economic losses as opposed to non-economic losses, the victim is entitled to be fully reimbursed for all actual and reasonable attorney fees. (See People v. Broussard (1993) 5 Cal.4th 1067, 1075; People v. Lyon (1996) 49 Cal.App.4th 1521, 1525.)
II. Determining the Proper Amount of Attorney Fees as Restitution
The parties dispute the evidentiary burdens applicable at victim restitution hearings. The resolution of this issue lies in the statutory language.
Section 1202.4 sets forth broad rules for the court to follow in determining victim restitution. It begins with a double-pronged requirement: (1) a victim who suffers economic loss as a result of a defendant's conduct is entitled to restitution (§ 1202.4, subd. (f)); and (2) the restitution ordered is to be "based on the amount of
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