People v. Financial Casualty & Surety, Inc.

INTRODUCTION

Financial Casualty & Surety, Inc. (Surety) provided a $100,000 bail bond for a criminal defendant who failed to appear in court as required. The court declared a forfeiture of the bond under Penal Code section 1305 1 and Surety failed to vacate the forfeiture within the statutorily specified appearance period. Accordingly, the court entered summary judgment against Surety in the amount of the bond and court costs. Surety appeals from the denial of its motion to set aside the summary judgment on the forfeited bond. It argues the trial court prematurely entered summary judgment because an emergency rule adopted by the Judicial Council in response to the Covid-19 pandemic (Emergency rule 9), which tolled “the statutes of limitations and repose for civil causes of action,” also tolled the appearance period for vacating forfeitures of bail bonds. We disagree and affirm the order.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In March 2019, Surety posted a bail bond of $100,000 for a criminal defendant (Vanessa Anderson) accused of three felony counts. Anderson failed to appear in court on May 17, 2019, and the court ordered the bail forfeited. The clerk mailed notice of the…