Diderickson & Bruun v. State
Diderickson & Bruun v. State, 2022 UT 2 (Pearce, J.)
Criminal Restitution; Civil Satisfaction of Judgement
This is a civil case for satisfaction of a judgment based on a restitution order entered in a criminal case. In the prior criminal case, Defendants (Diderickson and Bruun) were charged and convicted of theft. Although the victims had previously entered into a settlement agreement with Defendants in which they released all claims against Defendants, the court ordered Defendants to pay restitution. The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed. Once the restitution order was entered as a civil judgment against Defendants, they then filed a motion under rule 58B(6) of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, arguing that the settlement agreement entitled them to satisfaction of judgment. The district court denied the motion, and the Utah Court of Appeals affirmed. On certiorari, the Utah Supreme Court affirmed:
- Defendants could not use the same argument about the settlement agreement that had been rejected in their criminal case to satisfy the judgment entered based on that restitution order. The court of appeals therefore correctly concluded that petitioners’ pre-restitution order settlement agreement does not entitle them to a satisfaction of judgment.