State v. Kayon, 649 N.W.2d 334 (Wis. Ct. App. 2002)

Cases | State v. Kayon, 649 N.W.2d 334 (Wis. Ct. App. 2002) | 2018

The defendant was convicted of one count of party to a crime of burglary. Among other things, the defendant was ordered to pay $700 to replace a television set that was stolen, and $1,800 for television rental fees incurred by the victim while the case was pending. The defendant filed a postconviction motion to modify the sentence, arguing that paying the replacement value and the rental fees would put the victim in a greater position than she was in before he committed the crime. The circuit court denied the motion and the defendant appealed. The Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, District Two, reversed the judgment of the circuit court, and remanded the case for the purpose of determining reasonable rental fees. The appellate court determined that the trial court had the authority to order as restitution the replacement cost of the stolen television. The court noted further that the victim’s rental of a television was a “loss of use” damage that could be claimed in a civil action. Thus, it qualified as a special damage. However, the victim did not provide sufficient information to assess the reasonableness of the rental fees. Thus, the court remanded the case for the limited purpose of determining the amount of reasonable rental fees.