LILLEHAUG, Justice.
Appellant Toby Earl Johnson challenges a restitution order entered against him after he was convicted of aiding and abetting the first-degree premeditated murder of Randy Pool. This matter comes to us under our authority to hear sentencing appeals in first-degree murder cases. See State v. Jones, 678 N.W.2d 1, 23 (Minn. 2004); State v. Warren, 592 N.W.2d 440, 451 (Minn.1999). Johnson raises three issues before this court. First, he argues that the restitution order improperly included restitution for losses for which an insurance company had already reimbursed Pool's estate. Second, he argues that the order improperly calculated the restitution Johnson and his codefendants should pay for damage done to Pool's car. Third, he argues that the district court did not have statutory authority to order that the codefendants are jointly and severally liable for the restitution award. We affirm in part, vacate in part, and remand to the district court for further proceedings.
On April 10, 2000, appellant Toby Earl Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting first-degree premeditated intentional murder, see Minn.Stat. §§ 609.05, .185(a)(1) (2012) (renumbered in 2002; previously designated as section 609.185(1)) for his role in the July 1999 murder of Randy Pool. Johnson helped a group of people kidnap, beat, and murder Pool over the course of 3 days.
After Johnson pleaded guilty, Pool's family submitted a restitution request on behalf of Pool's estate, claiming a total financial loss of $13,253.80. See Minn.Stat. § 611A.04, subd. 1 (2012); see also Minn. Stat. § 611A.01(b) (2012) (defining "victim" to include family members of a deceased person). The family asserted that the crime cost the estate $3,480 in house repairs, $5,485.39 in personal property damage, $1,500 in house closing costs, $3,080.41 for the loss of Pool's car, and $800 in legal fees. The family also asserted that Pool's insurance company had reimbursed the estate for $7,468.48, but it is
As part of the loss claimed, the family requested $3,080.41 for Pool's car, which they said had been "totaled." That number reflected how much the estate owed a bank on a promissory note secured by the car. According to a letter from the attorney for Pool's estate to the bank, the windshield, the driver's window, and the trunk lock were broken; the keys were missing; and the car did not run. The letter said "[t]here was insurance on the automobile but it had a $1,000 deductible. The insurance company states that the car is not worth $1,000 and therefore, has not paid anything toward the damages."
At Johnson's sentencing hearing, the district court convicted Johnson of first-degree premeditated murder under Minn. Stat. §§ 609.05, .185(a)(1),
On October 9, 2008 — more than eight years later — the district court issued its restitution order. The court noted that Johnson's codefendant Heather Ecklund had been ordered to pay restitution for the crime, and adopted the order from Ecklund's case. The court also ordered that Johnson be jointly and severally liable for paying restitution along with five of his codefendants, including Ecklund. The adopted order outlined the following restitution payments:
On June 4, 2013, the district court issued an order saying that it would hold a restitution hearing for four of the defendants, including Johnson, because "[q]uestions have arisen as to the amount of restitution each should pay and whether the restitution is Joint and Several for each of the Defendants." Johnson filed a pro-se "request for relief" with the court before the hearing. Among other challenges to the order, he argued that joint and several liability was not proper in restitution. Contending that the award should be split into six portions, Johnson asserted that joint and several liability "does not hold any fairness or equality under economical standards of justice." Johnson also challenged the court's valuation of the car.
On September 17, 2013, after the hearing, the district court affirmed the original restitution order as to Johnson and three of his codefendants, noting that another three codefendants had completed their sentences so the court could not order
We turn first to Johnson's argument that the district court improperly awarded the Pool estate restitution for losses for which it had already been compensated by the insurance company. As a threshold matter, we must decide if Johnson has forfeited this argument. He did not raise this issue before or during the hearing on the restitution award, nor has he ever raised it in his many communications with the district court. See Johnson v. State, 673 N.W.2d 144, 147 (Minn.2004).
Generally, we will not consider arguments that are made for the first time on appeal. Greene v. Comm'r of Minn. Dep't of Human Servs., 755 N.W.2d 713, 725 n. 9 (Minn.2008). One purpose of this rule is to encourage the development of a factual record at the district court level. Johnson, 673 N.W.2d at 147. The rule, however, is not absolute, and we can address issues in the interests of justice as long as doing so will not unfairly surprise the other party. Id.
But none of the factors that we generally consider relevant to hearing a case in the "interests of justice" are present here, and several factors caution against granting review. First, whether the district court included money that the insurance company had already paid the estate is a question of fact that was not developed below. See, e.g., Johnson, 673 N.W.2d at 148. Second, this issue does not involve any important liberty interests or pressing matters of statewide concern. See, e.g., State v. Henderson, 706 N.W.2d 758, 760 (Minn.2005); State v. Profit, 591 N.W.2d 451, 462 (Minn.1999). Third, it is impossible to tell whether this issue is even ripe for consideration. See State v. Palubicki, 727 N.W.2d 662, 667-68 (Minn.2007) (holding that an issue was not yet ripe for consideration when a defendant argued that requiring him to pay a certain kind of restitution would lead to a double recovery on the part of the victim's family, because the victim's children had "not yet received payment in excess of their economic loss").
Johnson's failure to raise the issue below did not give the district court an opportunity to clarify the restitution order in light of the insurance award. Accordingly, we hold that Johnson has forfeited the issue.
We turn next to Johnson's argument that the district court improperly ordered him to pay $3,080.41 for the victim's car. He argues that the court used the value of an outstanding promissory note, secured by the car, as the value of the car, rather than calculating the actual damage the defendants caused. Whether the district court used the proper measure of loss is a question of law, which we review de novo. See City of Moorhead v. Red River Valley Coop. Power Ass'n, 830 N.W.2d 32, 36 (Minn.2013).
When someone is convicted of a felony, the district court can order restitution to the victim as part of the criminal sentence. See Minn.Stat. § 609.10, subd.
The primary purpose of restitution is to "restore crime victims to the same financial position they were in before the crime." Palubicki, 727 N.W.2d at 666. Applying this standard, the district court erred by using the value of the outstanding promissory note as the value of the car rather than calculating the actual loss that defendants' actions caused. If this crime had not happened, Pool would have had to repay the bank what he owed on the promissory note regardless of how much or how little the car was worth. To put the estate in the same financial position Pool was in before the crime, the measure of loss should be the actual damage defendants caused to the car.
As a factual matter, the State has not met its burden to show the damage to the car by a preponderance of the evidence. See Minn.Stat. § 611A.045, subd. 3(a). The record does not support the State's contention that the value of the promissory note was a good proxy for the actual value of the car. The record is not sufficiently detailed to establish how much the car was worth either before or after the murder. The only information in the record about the car's value is the second-hand assertion of an attorney for the estate that the insurance company said the car was "not worth $1,000." There is simply no evidence in the record to support the contention that the defendants caused $3,080.41 in damage to the car. Therefore, we vacate that portion of the restitution award and remand to the district court for further fact-finding on the actual damage the defendants caused to the car.
Finally, we turn to Johnson's assertion that the district court did not have the statutory authority to order that restitution liability be joint and several. Johnson argues that, while district courts may have broad discretion in determining an appropriate award of restitution, Minn.Stat. § 611A.04 does not authorize a district court to order that restitution be joint and several. The State, however, argues that in crimes involving multiple codefendants "there is no reason to hold that restitution cannot be joint and several as long as a sufficient factual basis underlies" the order. Whether Minnesota law permits courts to order joint and several liability for restitution is a question of law, which we review de novo. See City of Moorhead, 830 N.W.2d at 36.
In the civil context, Minnesota common law has long provided that parties whose concurrent negligence causes injury are jointly and severally liable for the resulting damages. See Maday v. Yellow
In the criminal context, we hold today that when a victim sustains indivisible loss from multiple defendants' actions, the sentencing court has the authority to order restitution based on joint and several liability.
Affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded.
ANDERSON, J., took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.