BAIL BOND FIRMS SETTLE CIVIL LAWSUIT.Byline: Terry Kanakri Daily News Staff Writer The Ventura County District Attorney's Office has settled a civil lawsuit against two bail bonds A written promise signed by a defendant or a surety (one who promises to act in place of another) to pay an amount fixed by a court should the defendant named in the document fail to appear in court for the designated criminal proceeding at the date and time specified. companies operated by the same owners out of Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. and Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. and accused of unfair business practices. Without admitting wrongdoing wrong·do·er n. One who does wrong, especially morally or ethically. wrong  do , California Bail Bond Services Inc. and Eveready Bonds Inc. agreed to pay fines totaling $6,460 and comply with an injunction requiring the business to return collateral promptly. ``I hope that the civil penalties that were imposed and the permanent injunction permanent injunction n. a final order of a court that a person or entity refrain from certain activities permanently or take certain actions (usually to correct a nuisance) until completed. will act as an incentive for the companies to improve their business practices,'' said Deputy District Attorney Michael Schwartz. Eugene Steckly, who with his wife, Ruth, owned the companies, denied any wrongdoing Tuesday, and said the couple agreed to settle the lawsuit to avoid a costly court battle. ``The reason that we settled is because the amount was less than the cost of fighting the lawsuit and it was without justification,'' he said. ``It was a financial decision that was made. It was cheaper to do that than to fight it.'' The District Attorney's Office's Consumer and Environmental Protection Division filed a civil complaint in January 1995, alleging that the defendants failed to return property used to secure bail bonds promptly after the bail bond obligations had been terminated as required by law. It also alleged that the defendants recorded trust deeds A legal document that evidences an agreement of a borrower to transfer legal title to real property to an impartial third party, a trustee, for the benefit of a lender, as security for the borrower's debt. to secure bail bonds without determining the identity of the people signing the trust deeds or whether they owned the property. The settlement signed by Ventura Superior Court Judge Joe D. Hadden requires the business to pay a civil penalty of $4,500, restitution In the context of Criminal Law, state programs under which an offender is required, as a condition of his or her sentence, to repay money or donate services to the victim or society; with respect to maritime law, the restoration of articles lost by jettison, done when the totaling $1,460 to three customers, and $500 to support public libraries in the county. ``We're satisfied with the resolution of the case,'' Schwartz said. ``We want to make it clear that they need to comply with the time requirements for returning collateral after the criminal case is over and there were a number of problems with that.'' Schwartz said his office received eight complaints about the company between 1991 and 1994. Steckly said he and his wife, who are from Thousand Oaks, no longer operate California Bail Bond Services and Eveready Bonds. He said the couple now operates a company called Eveready Bonds II. |
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