Michael Coluccio was convicted of vehicular homicide while under the influence on July 14, 2007, when his vehicle struck a motorcycle near Missoula, killing driver John Troyer. Coluccio was ordered to pay nearly $1.4 million in restitution.

Coluccio appealed the restitution, which included nearly $1.34 million for lost wages, $20,000 for home repairs and $10,000 for counseling for Troyer's widow and children.

The high court, in an opinion filed Aug. 17, ruled there was inadequate evidence presented to justify the restitution amounts and ordered a new hearing.

The opinion noted that Troyer's widow, Robyn, sought $35,000 in restitution for counseling, based on 150 visits with a counselor at $100 per session. When asked how she came up with the session amount, she said: "On that figure, I was actually at a loss. But I asked a few friends that had been to counseling, approximately what to figure based on their expenses, and that's how I came up with that."

Robyn Troyer sought $40,000 for home repairs that her husband could have performed, calculating the amount based on $100 per month for 40 years. "I just assumed that I would spend a minimum of $100 a month paying somebody to do the things that John would be able to do himself," she said.

She also asked for nearly $3 million in restitution for her husband's lost wages, based on a a salary of $92,472 a year. She based her calculations on one of Troyer's pay stubs from the National Guard and his "other jobs." When asked how she came up with the annual salary amount, Robyn Troyer said, "What I based that on is, he also had other jobs. Like he flew privately for a helicopter company. When he wasn't doing that, he worked more for the (National Guard). So I just took that paycheck and said this is what he would potentially earn."

A friend of Robyn Troyer's, who is an attorney, prepared a document that calculated the amount of lost wages as nearly $1.34 million. The defense objected to her testifying about a document she did not prepare. The District Court overruled the objection.

"We cannot conclude that the amounts set by the District Court for counseling services, home repair and lost wages were substantiated by evidence in the record," Justice John Warner wrote. "Ms. Troyer stated she was 'at a loss' when calculating counseling expenses, she 'assumed' the home repair expenses, her husband had the 'potential' to make $92,000 a year, and she did not know how her attorney-friend prepared lost income figures she presented. Assumptions, ballpark figures from friends and purely speculative calculations are insufficient information upon which to make findings of fact."
  
DUI Lawyers   Show All articles