section 550

Citation: section 550
Parent Document: P. ex rel. etc. v. Hebb (2017)
Jurisdiction: California (state)
Effective Date: 2017-12-19
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4453096/p-ex-rel-etc-v-hebb/ ↗

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3   In their brief, defendants contend Alzayat pleaded a predicate violation of Penal
Code section 550, subdivision (b)(3), which provides: “It is unlawful to do, or to
knowingly assist or conspire with any person to . . . [¶] . . . [¶] [c]onceal, or knowingly
fail to disclose the occurrence of, an event that affects any person’s initial or continued
right or entitlement to any insurance benefit or payment, or the amount of any benefit or
payment to which the person is entitled.” Not so. The complaint pleaded more generally
that Hebb’s misrepresentations in the Sunline report and in his deposition testimony were
“in violation of Penal Code § 550, which is a predicate offense for an action under the
Insurance Frauds Prevention Act.”
        Alzayat relied on Penal Code section 550, subdivision (b)(3), in his opening brief
in an earlier appeal and in an answer to defendants’ petition for review in that proceeding.
Based on the parties’ briefs in that earlier appeal, this court addressed Penal Code
section 550, subdivision (b)(3), in the context of the specific issue presented to us, viz,
whether a self-insurance risk pool constitutes insurance for purposes of the IFPA.
(People ex rel. Alzayat v. Hebb et al. (Dec. 17, 2015, E060593) [nonpub. opn.].) This
court had no occasion whatsoever to decide whether Alzayat could state a claim based on
a predicate violation of Penal Code section 550, subdivision (b)(3), or whether Alzayat’s
IFPA lawsuit is limited to that specific predicate offense. Defendants have not argued
Alzayat is judicially estopped from asserting other predicate offenses under Penal Code
section 550, and we decline to find estoppel on our own motion. (Lee v. West Kern
Water Dist. (2016) 5 Cal.App.5th 606, 630 [equitable defense of judicial estoppel is
subject to the forfeiture doctrine].)

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