After providing very belated proof that his truck had insurance, a young Cody man received a rare refund for a ticket he paid over a year ago.

In a Wednesday ruling, Park County Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah returned the $570 the 22-year-old paid to the court and removed the misdemeanor conviction for no insurance from his record. Recently submitted paperwork indicated the man’s vehicle actually had insurance at the time of the August 2024 incident, and his attorney convinced Darrah that the court had the ability to vacate the year-old judgment. 

Records show the citation arose from an encounter the man had with the Park County Sheriff’s Office on U.S. Highway 14/16/20. When the man was unable to provide proof that the 2015 Dodge Ram 3500 he was driving had valid auto insurance, a deputy issued him a forfeitable citation.

Drivers can get their tickets dismissed if they provide proof of insurance to the court, but the man didn’t do that or show up for his court date. After getting a warning that his driver’s license would be suspended, the man paid the $570 ticket in early November 2024.

That would normally be the end of it, but in mid-October, the man provided the court with a State Farm insurance application that indicated the Dodge had actually been insured. Darrah initially dismissed the paperwork, since the man had already paid the ticket, but the driver retained Cody attorney Rives White and tried again.

While there are no criminal rules that say how a person might get relief from a judgment stemming from a forfeitable offense, White contended that the rules of civil procedure allow relief if there was “mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.”

In a Nov. 7 motion, White said his client’s decision to pay the citation “was made under the mistaken belief that he did not have valid insurance,” when in fact a family member had obtained insurance. That qualifies as a mistake or excusable neglect, White said, adding that, “there was absolutely no violation of the law.”

In his ruling last week, Darrah agreed that the driver had been following state statute and scrapped last year’s judgment.