The criminal case, CalVCB and your civil claimYour claim does not wait for an arrest.

This page explains how the criminal case fits with your own civil claim: the deadlines, an attacker who is never caught, convictions and pleas, restitution, and the California Victim Compensation Board (CalVCB). The Los Angeles negligent security lawyer page explains when an owner is responsible for a crime on its property. The statutes and CalVCB's pages were checked on November 11, 2026.

Two separate cases

An attack on someone else's property can lead to two separate cases. The criminal case belongs to the prosecutor, who decides what to charge. The person who was hurt is the victim and often a witness in that case, but not a party to it. The civil claim belongs to the person who was hurt. It can be brought against the attacker, and also against the owner, landlord, manager, business or security company whose lack of reasonable care helped make the attack possible. A criminal case does not charge those companies, and its outcome does not decide whether they were careless.

The owner's duty

California's jury instruction on crime on property, CACI No. 1005 (2026 edition), says that a landlord or the owner of a business open to the public "must use reasonable care to protect" tenants, guests or patrons "from another person's criminal conduct on" the property "if the [owner/landlord] can reasonably anticipate that conduct." Whether that duty exists is decided by the judge; whether the steps the owner took were "adequate and reasonable under the circumstances" is decided by the jury.

Those questions are answered in the civil case. Our guide to how to prove a negligent security case explains the evidence.

Deadlines during the criminal case

The civil claim does not wait for the criminal case. No California statute pauses the injury deadline while charges are pending. Most California injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the injury (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). A felony conviction adds time only against the person convicted. Section 340.3 allows an action against a defendant convicted of a felony "within one year after judgment is pronounced," when that ends later. It adds no time against the owner, the landlord or the security company.

The dates in any one case should be calculated by a lawyer. Our guide to negligent security deadlines lists every deadline by defendant, including claims against a public entity, and the deadline calculator counts the general two year and six month dates from a date you enter.

Attackers who are never caught

A claim against the property owner does not depend on an arrest. The civil case asks what the owner knew and did before the attack, so it can go forward when the police never identify anyone, and when prosecutors decide not to file charges. For a sexual assault, the statute says so directly: "it is not necessary that a criminal prosecution or other proceeding have been brought" (Code of Civil Procedure section 340.16(b)(2)). A jury can still assign part of the fault to an attacker who is never found. CACI No. 406 quotes the California Supreme Court that a defendant's share is measured against "all fault responsible for the plaintiff's injuries, not merely that of 'defendant[s]' present in the lawsuit" (DaFonte v. Up-Right, Inc. (1992) 2 Cal.4th 593). Our guide to when the attacker is mostly at fault explains what that share does to a claim.

Proof without an arrest

Who the attacker was can still matter to the proof. In Saelzler v. Advanced Group 400 (2001) 25 Cal.4th 763, the California Supreme Court required "nonspeculative evidence, some actual causal link" between the injury and the owner's failure to provide adequate security. The plaintiff in that case could not identify the people who attacked her, and the court said they "might have been unauthorized trespassers, but they also could have been tenants" who were allowed through the locked gates. Camera footage, gate and key fob logs, the police report and witness statements can fill that gap. Our negligent security evidence checklist lists the records to ask for and who holds them.

Convictions and pleas

A felony conviction can be used in the civil case to prove what the attacker did. Evidence Code section 1300 lets a final felony judgment be offered "to prove any fact essential to the judgment whether or not the judgment was based on a plea of nolo contendere." The table shows how each outcome can be used under that section and Penal Code section 1016(3), which treats a no contest plea to a felony like a guilty plea "for all purposes."

A conviction and the owner

A conviction concerns the attacker, not the property owner. In Teitelbaum Furs, Inc. v. Dominion Ins. Co. (1962) 58 Cal.2d 601, 607, the California Supreme Court held that "any issue necessarily decided in a prior criminal proceeding is conclusively determined as to the parties if it is involved in a subsequent civil action." The owner, landlord or security company was not a party to the criminal case, so the conviction does not prove that any of them was negligent. Its practical value is that it can take two questions off the table: who did it, and whether it was a crime. Whether the owner used reasonable care is still proved in the civil case, with its own evidence.

Restitution from the attacker

Restitution is money a criminal court orders the convicted person to pay the victim for economic losses. Under Penal Code section 1202.4, "The court shall order full restitution," and "A defendant's inability to pay shall not be a consideration in determining the amount of a restitution order." It reaches noneconomic losses only for certain felony sex offenses against children (section 1202.4(f)(3)(F)). The order runs against the person convicted, not against the property owner, and collecting it depends on what that person has.

Restitution and a civil recovery do not pay for the same loss twice. Restitution actually collected "shall be credited to any other judgments for the same losses obtained against the defendant" (section 1202.4(j)), and restitution paid is credited against a judgment, award or settlement in a lawsuit against the convicted person under Code of Civil Procedure section 340.3(e).

CalVCB victim compensation

The California Victim Compensation Board, called CalVCB, pays some crime-related expenses that no other source covers. To qualify, the victim must have been a California resident at the time of the crime, or a non-resident victimized in California. The crime must involve physical injury, emotional injury due to the threat of physical injury, or death, and in some cases emotional injury alone. The crimes on CalVCB's eligibility page include assault with a deadly weapon, battery, homicide, robbery, sexual assault and stalking. Family members of a victim can also qualify, as derivative victims. CalVCB's own pages at victims.ca.gov explain how to apply.

CalVCB eligibility rules

CalVCB's eligibility rules do not list an arrest or a conviction. They ask victims to cooperate with police and court officials to arrest and prosecute the offender, and CalVCB says exceptions are considered, "like in cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, or human trafficking." A person who was involved in the events leading to the crime is not eligible. A person who committed a felony at the time of the crime is not eligible either, though CalVCB says exceptions may be considered. Keep the police report number and the investigator's contact details.

Expenses CalVCB pays

As of November 11, 2026, CalVCB's page on what is covered says "The most CalVCB can reimburse a victim for is $70,000." It does not pay for pain and suffering. The table lists the main expenses on CalVCB's own list.

For a tenant attacked at home, the relocation and home security items can matter while a civil claim is still being prepared.

Seven years to apply

The CalVCB application has a longer time limit than most injury lawsuits. According to CalVCB's eligibility page, as of November 11, 2026, the application is due within seven years of the crime, seven years after the direct victim turns 21, or seven years from when the crime could have been discovered, whichever is later. CalVCB says "Some applications filed later than this may be considered," on a late consideration form. Because most injury lawsuits must be filed within two years, the two dates should be tracked separately.

Payer of last resort

"CalVCB is a payor of last resort," its coverage page says, which means it "pays only for expenses that aren't reimbursed by any other source." Applicants must seek payment first from sources such as medical, dental or vision insurance, public benefit programs such as Medi-Cal, auto insurance, workers' compensation, court-ordered restitution and civil lawsuit recoveries, and they must tell CalVCB about every source. If one of those sources pays later, CalVCB must be repaid. Applying does not stop a civil claim against the owner, but CalVCB has to know about it.

Repayment from a civil recovery

CalVCB is repaid from a later settlement or award for the same expenses. Its repayment page says "CalVCB has the legal right to be repaid when you get an award or settlement for crime-related expenses" and "You will not have to repay more than you were compensated." Notice comes early: "If you file a lawsuit or insurance claim, you or your attorney must notify CalVCB within 30 days of filing." Government Code section 13963 sets the same 30 days for notice of a lawsuit, given by the attorney who brings it.

Lawyer fees for CalVCB help

A lawyer cannot charge a victim for work on a CalVCB application. Government Code section 13957.7(g) says "The board shall pay attorney's fees representing the reasonable value of legal services rendered to the applicant, in an amount equal to 10 percent of the amount of the award, or five hundred dollars ($500), whichever is less, for each victim and each derivative victim." The same subdivision says "An attorney may not charge, demand, receive, or collect any amount for services rendered in connection with any proceedings under this chapter except as awarded under this chapter." The fee agreement for a civil injury claim is separate.

Victim services

These services are free and independent of Wise Law. The numbers are as printed on each service's website on November 11, 2026.

A victim who died

When an attack is fatal, the claims belong to the family and the estate: the family's wrongful death claim and the estate's survival claim. Most California wrongful death lawsuits must be filed within two years of the date of death (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). CalVCB can still help. Family members can qualify as derivative victims, and CalVCB says it may pay up to $12,818, under most circumstances, for the funeral, burial or memorial service, after other sources of payment. Our guide to fatal attacks and wrongful death covers the family's claim, and the Los Angeles wrongful death lawyer page explains it.

Sources cited

• Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (2026 edition), CACI Nos. 406 and 1005: courts.ca.gov
• Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, the two-year period: california.public.law
• Code of Civil Procedure section 340.3, the year after a felony judgment and restitution credit: california.public.law
• Code of Civil Procedure section 340.16, sexual assault claims: california.public.law
• Saelzler v. Advanced Group 400 (2001) 25 Cal.4th 763: CourtListener
• Evidence Code section 1300, felony judgments in civil cases: california.public.law
• Penal Code section 1016, no contest pleas: california.public.law
• Teitelbaum Furs, Inc. v. Dominion Ins. Co. (1962) 58 Cal.2d 601: CourtListener
• Penal Code section 1202.4, restitution: california.public.law
• California Victim Compensation Board, who is eligible: victims.ca.gov
• California Victim Compensation Board, what is covered: victims.ca.gov
• California Victim Compensation Board, funeral and burial benefits: victims.ca.gov
• California Victim Compensation Board, responsibility for repayment: victims.ca.gov
• Government Code section 13963, notice and repayment: california.public.law
• Government Code section 13957.7, attorney fees for CalVCB applications: california.public.law