Alapati v. City and County of San Francisco

Background

Aliitasi Alapati sued the City and County of San Francisco (CCSF) and various jail nurses and staff over injuries she said she sustained while in custody. The parties reached a conditional settlement under which CCSF would pay $100,000, characterized as compensation for emotional distress, in exchange for a full release of Alapati’s claims. The agreement stated that payment was subject to, among other things, California Penal Code sections 1202.4(i) and 2085.7.

Alapati had separately pleaded guilty to a felony in San Francisco Superior Court and had been ordered to pay $285,058 in restitution to Sandy Hu. After the settlement agreement was signed, CCSF told Alapati that it intended to pay the settlement funds, less attorney fees, directly to the San Francisco Superior Court to partially satisfy the restitution order rather than paying Alapati.

Jurisdiction

The federal court held that it had authority to enforce the settlement because its dismissal order incorporated the settlement terms. A breach of those terms would therefore also violate the court’s order, giving the court authority to enforce the agreement.

Court’s Analysis

The court examined whether the settlement agreement authorized CCSF to send the funds to the Superior Court. It found that the agreement did not contemplate anyone other than Alapati receiving the settlement funds. Although the agreement referred to California Penal Code section 2085.7, CCSF did not provide evidence that the county board of supervisors had established the required collection method or designated CCSF as the agency authorized to collect restitution. The court stated that section 2085.7 did not otherwise allow CCSF to collect restitution in any manner it chose.

The court also concluded that the statutory language cited by CCSF did not authorize the proposed payment on the facts presented. The court noted that Alapati remained personally responsible for restitution, and that state law provided other ways to enforce that obligation, but that continuing obligation did not give CCSF authority under the settlement agreement to direct payment to the Superior Court.

Order

The court ordered that the settlement funds be paid directly to Alapati through her counsel, Legal Allies. The court stated that CCSF could use section 2085.7 to ensure restitution was paid if it complied with the procedures established by that statute.