The First Appellate District reversed a judgment. The court held that the trial court erred in concluding that the Department of the California Highway Patrol’s policy for seeking reimbursement of emergency response costs from persons found to have been driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol conflicted with California law and the prior opinion of the court of appeal.
In 2003, Esteban Allende and Michelle Grundhoeffer sued the Department of the California Highway Patrol (CHP), alleging that under the CHP’s emergency response cost billing policy, drivers were being charged for costs not authorized by Gov. Code §53150, which defines the circumstances under which a person driving a motor vehicle may be liable for the expense of an emergency response, and related statutes.
