Randy Quaid Sues Bail Bonds Company

Randy Quaid, the down and out actor, and his wife Evi were arrested for burglary and illegal squatting in the guest house of their former residence back in September, 2010. Since then they have missed court dates and attempted to flee to Canada claiming they were being persecuted in the US and their lives were in danger.

The Quaids, are no stranger’s to run-ins with the law, and they certainly are not strangers to dishing out law suits. The IRS charged Quaid of not paying taxes back in 2004. And in 2006, Quaid sued Focus Features, which is the art house films division of NBC Universal, because he didn’t feel he was paid enough for the small role he had in Brokeback Mountain. Then again, in 2009 he and his wife were arrested for skipping out on their $10,000 bill.

The couple missed their court appearances related to the hotel bill in 2009 and 2010. When they did finally show up – for whatever reason – they brought in Quaid’s 1987 Golden Globe award (not sure what that was for). They eventually sued their attorney as well, claiming he had stolen their money.

Apparently now they are suing the bail bonds company for posting their bonds without their consent!

So, let’s go over how the bail bond process works…

When someone is arrested – in this case, the Quaids – a friend, family member or someone else associated with the jailed individual will contact a bail bonds company about posting a bail bond on their behalf. Usually the bail bonds company requires a co-signer (or multiple co-signers) to guarantee the bond. Also, the defendant(s) are required to come into the bail bond office, usually within 12-24 hours of being released to sign paperwork stating they understand the requirements for keeping their bond in place, which includes appearing at all court dates as required, keeping up with check-ins, and of course paying the premium for the bond.

Now, in most counties the initial work to get the bond posted is done by the person(s) co-signing for the bonds and the bonds (Surety) company. So technically the defendant is NOT the one requesting the bond. So here is where this gets tricky.

If the bonding company just decided to post the bonds out of the goodness of their hearts with no co-signers (HIGHLY UNLIKELY!!), then the Quaids may have a legitimate argument.

But on the other hand (and more likely) if the Quaids were released because co-signers went through the normal process of requesting the bonds on their behalf, and they accepted the release and then didn’t bother to go to the bonding company to complete the paperwork because they didn’t want to be obligated to pay the bond, then that’s a different story altogether.

I have my opinions on how this will go and what they are attempting to accomplish, but I’ll keep my opinions quiet until more facts are released.

We’ll continue to watch this case and keep you posted.

Southern Bail Bonds in Dallas has extensive expertise in the bail bonds industry. Contact us at: Southern Bail Bonds. We provide Dallas County Bail Bonds for felony, misdemeanor and traffic related offenses. We’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call us at 214-372-2500. We’re ready to help!

Author: Patrick Hill


If you enjoyed this article, check out these other articles regarding legal information:
Difference Between Felony And Misdemeanor Charges
Dallas Bail Bonds Co-Signer Responsibilities