Case Name: John Matthew WALENTUKONIS, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2006-06-16
Citations: 932 So. 2d 1136
Docket Number: No. 2D05-2268
Parties: John Matthew WALENTUKONIS, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: STRINGER, J., Concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 932
Pages: 1136–1138

Head Matter:
John Matthew WALENTUKONIS, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 2D05-2268.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.
June 16, 2006.
James Marion Moorman, Public Defender, and Timothy J. Ferreri, Assistant Public Defender, Bartow, for Appellant.
Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Susan D. Dunlevy, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appel-lee.

Opinion:
ALTENBERND, Judge.
John Walentukonis appeals an order imposing restitution of $3875 for damage he caused to an inoperable 1991 Dodge pickup truck. Because the State was unprepared to present adequate evidence about the value of this truck at the restitution hearing, the trial court determined the value of the truck in part by taking judicial notice, sua sponte, of "the NADA Blue Book Average Retail Value." Although we understand the trial court's desire to streamline the process of setting restitution in this case, we must reverse and remand for further proceedings.
Pursuant to section 90.202(12), Florida Statutes (2004), a trial court may take judicial notice of "[f]acts that are not subject to dispute because they are capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot be questioned." Section 90.204(1), Florida Statutes (2004), provides: "When a court determines upon its own motion that judicial notice of a matter should be taken . the court shall afford each party reasonable opportunity to present information relevant to the propriety of taking judicial notice and to the nature of the matter noticed." Section 90.204(3) also provides that if a court takes judicial notice by resort to a documentary source of information not received in open court, "the court shall make the information and its source a part of the record in the action and shall afford each party reasonable opportunity to challenge such information."
Here, the court did not follow the procedure required by section 90.204. The specific information upon which the trial court relied is not in our record. Indeed, there appears to be no "NADA Blue Book." Instead, there are two separate books regarding the value of used vehicles: the "NADA Official Used Car Guide" or the "Kelley Blue Book." Although new editions of these guides are published periodically and their content is generally available on the internet, there is no indication what printed edition the trial court reviewed or if it resorted to the internet sources. Further, these guides provide values based upon certain variables regarding the vehicles listed. This vehicle was described at the restitution hearing simply as a 1991 Dodge pick-up truck that was missing its motor and transmission; no model number was provided nor was there an indication of the mileage of the vehicle or the condition of its remaining frame. The order granting restitution does not indicate the assumptions the trial judge made in selecting the value for this vehicle from the guide.
The value of an individual vehicle— and particularly the vehicle in this case — is not something that is "not subject to dispute" based upon resort to sources such as a used car value guide. Even if used car guides could be classified as "sources whose accuracy cannot be questioned"— and we by no means imply that they can be classified as such — the value of a vehicle may vary substantially based upon numerous facts that may or may not be reflected in such guides. Because the trial court erred in taking judicial notice of a used car guide to determine the amount of restitution, we reverse the order and remand for further proceedings.
Reversed and remanded.
STRINGER, J., Concurs.
VILLANTI, J., Concurs specially with opinion.