2018-00240662-CU-PT

In Re: Rebecca Quinn

Nature of Proceeding: Petition for Approval for Transfer of Structured Settlement Payment

Filed By:

This matter was originally set for hearing on 10/22/2018 but was continued to 11/16/2018 to permit the filing of a supplemental declaration from Ms. Quinn no later than 11/9/2018. For unknown reasons, the supplemental declaration from Ms. Quinn was not submitted to the court until nearly 11:00 a.m. on 11/15/2018, which necessitated a further continuance to this date so the court could have a reasonable opportunity to consider the supplemental declaration. The court has now considered this supplemental declaration but is not persuaded that the transfer proposed here is in Ms. Quinn’s “best interest” as required by Insurance Code §10139.5, thereby requiring this petition be DENIED.

Ms. Quinn is a 23 year old, unmarried woman with no children. She states she is unemployed but looking for work. She now seeks to transfer a total of $25,200 in future payments ($20,000 of which is due in 2025) with a present value of approximately $21,128 in exchange for $12,501, representing an effective interest rate of 15.99%. It is represented that Ms. Quinn is experiencing a “financial hardship” and will use the proceeds from this transfer “to pay for school and pay for a procedure to amputate [her] dog’s leg.”

Ms. Quinn has admitted to completing two prior transfers, both earlier this year. The first petition filed in March 2018 resulted in Ms. Quinn receiving a total of $50,125, which was to be used to get her own apartment, purchase a vehicle and pay off debts ( i.e., student loans and medical bills) already in collection. The second petition filed in June 2018 resulted in Ms. Quinn receiving a total of $20,157, which was to be used for pay overdue rent, find a more affordable apartment and pay an entire year upfront.

Given that Ms. Quinn has received in excess of $70,000 in the last few months and is now seeking an additional $10,000-plus, the court previously required Ms. Quinn to provide documentation demonstrating that the $70,000-plus proceeds from the two earlier transfers were in fact used for the purposes previously stated under oath: Get her own apartment, purchase a vehicle, pay off debts in collection, pay overdue rent, find a more affordable apartment and pay an entire year of rent upfront.

Additionally, Ms. Quinn was required to provide documentation of her dog’s injury and the anticipated costs for the procedure, as well as her upcoming tuition payments and the amount of financial aid she admits to receiving.

The supplemental declaration provided by Ms. Quinn falls far short of what was requested by the court. First, the body of the supplemental declaration provides none

of the details specified in the court’s earlier ruling. Instead, it merely asserts in

conclusory terms that the proceeds from the prior transfers (i.e., $70,000-plus) was
used to pay off student loans and an eviction as well as to rent an apartment and fix
her car but there is no mention of her upcoming tuition payments or the amount of
financial aid she currently receives. Second, Page 1 of Exhibit A to the supplemental
declaration indicates inter alia that Ms. Quinn spent $3,500 of the earlier proceeds on
“clothing” and $600 on a “Miami trip,” neither of these was previously disclosed to the
court as an anticipated use of the earlier proceeds. Third, while the remainder of
Exhibit A appears to reflect a few payments to SMUD and PG&E for utility bills, a

handful of barely legible copies of recent money orders presumably used to pay rent, a

DMV document purporting to reflect a vehicle purchase in May 2018 for nearly
$12,500, an auto repair bill following a collision a few weeks later for which Ms. Quinn
was responsible for just her $1,000 deductible, and a barely legible veterinary bill for

what appears to be $730, there is no documentation reflecting that Ms. Quinn followed
through with her earlier representation to the court she would use some of the earlier
$70,000-plus proceeds to pay an entire year of rent upfront; to the contrary, the
documents indicate she continues to pay rent on a monthly basis using money orders.

In light of the foregoing and the supplemental declaration’s failure to provide all of the information and documentation which was previously requested, the court is not persuaded that Ms. Quinn will in fact use the proceeds for the purposes she has already stated and will instead squander it on other purchases that will do nothing to improve her overall situation. Therefore, the court cannot conclude the transfer proposed here is in Ms. Quinn’s “best interest” as required by Insurance Code §10139.5.

Regardless, the court finds that the effective interest rate of 15.99% for this transfer is excessive under the circumstances and this alone warrants denial of the present petition.

This minute order is effective immediately. No formal order or other notice is required. (Code Civ. Proc. §1019.5; CRC Rule 3.1312.)