What to do if I was ordered to pay restitution and just found out that the person collecting this resitution also may have collect on her homeowners insurance?
Question Details: I was told she could only do one or the other because if she did both, she would be getting paid double. However, it seems as though that is exacty what she did. Is this legal and, if not, does this mean that I shouldn't have to pay restitution anymore since she already got her money?
Generally speaking, double recovery is illegal. Usually, a judicial award of money exceeding the actual measure of damage or loss must be specifically provided by statute or rule in the jurisdiction of occurrence.
As a rule, in Georgia, you can file for a sentence modification and bring the proof of the receipt of insurance funds. The judge will usually order that the restitution is not due in full, but only to the extent that the insurance did not cover it. The victim is not entitled to benefit unjustly. They are only entitled to be "made whole."
