County of Sacramento v. Superior Court
Decision Date | 06 May 1980 |
Citation | 105 Cal.App.3d 898,164 Cal.Rptr. 724 |
Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
Parties | COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO, Petitioner, v. The SUPERIOR COURT of the State of California, IN AND FOR the COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO, Respondent, Michael Charles HARDY, Real Party in Interest. Civ. 18931. |
Bailey, Lea & Brown and David I. Brown, Sacramento, for petitioner.
No appearance for respondent.
Daniel J. Sullivan, Sacramento, for real party in interest.
Petitioner, County of Sacramento, seeks a writ of mandate to compel the respondent superior court to vacate its order relieving real party in interest (Hardy) from the claim-filing requirements of the California Tort Claims Act. (Gov.Code, § 911.2.) 1
On March 3, 1978, Hardy was involved in an automobile accident in Sacramento in which he was injured and Cathey Lynn Corrie and her four-month-old daughter were killed. As a result of the accident, felony manslaughter and felony drunk driving charges were filed against Hardy. During the criminal proceedings, Hardy was represented by counsel, and on November 13, 1978, he entered a plea of nolo contendere to the charge of felony drunk driving.
On February 5, 1979, Hardy filed an application for permission to file a late claim against the County of Sacramento which was denied. On April 16, 1979, he filed a petition for judicial relief (Gov.Code, § 946.6, subd. (c)(1)) from the claim-filing requirement which was granted by the respondent court.
Compliance with the governmental claims statutes is mandatory (City of San Jose v. Superior Court (1974) 12 Cal.3d 447, 454, 115 Cal.Rptr. 797, 525 P.2d 701; Farrell v. County of Placer (1944) 23 Cal.2d 624, 630, 145 P.2d 570); and failure to follow the statutory requirements is fatal to the cause of action against the public entity. (City of San Jose v. Superior Court, supra, 12 Cal.3d at p. 449, 115 Cal.Rptr. 797, 525 P.2d 701.) The claim-filing requirement and the predicates for relief from those requirements were succinctly stated by this court in El Dorado Irrigation Dist. v. Superior Court (1979) 98 Cal.App.3d 57, 159 Cal.Rptr. 267.
The judicial grant of a petition for relief carries an implication that the requirements of section 946.6 were met. We fail to find any evidence presented of a legally cognizable mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect in connection with real party in interest's failure to act within 100 days.
The mistake asserted by Hardy is that he was ". . . mistaken in determining exactly what impact filing a claim against the City (sic ) for civil damages would have . . . ." and his attorney's "mistaken" belief that filing the claim might adversely affect his negotiations with the district attorney regarding the criminal charges against him. It has been held that, under certain circumstances, a claimant's mistaken belief as to the existence (Syzemore v. County of Sacramento (1976) 55 Cal.App.3d 517, 127 Cal.Rptr. 741), or applicability of the claims statutes (Viles v. State of California (1967) 66 Cal.2d 24, 56 Cal.Rptr. 666, 423 P.2d 818), or even mere forgetfulness on the part of claimant's attorney (Flores v. Board of Supervisors (1970) 13 Cal.App.3d 480, 91 Cal.Rptr. 717), may be considered adequate mistakes to justify relief under section 946.6, subdivision (c)(1). However, in those instances, the failure to timely file was not deliberate. Hardy intentionally chose not to file.
A deliberate decision not to comply with the claims statutes cannot be considered "mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect." The so-called "mistake" here asserted related to his criminal trial strategy and was not concerned with the claims statutes. Under the circumstances his conduct was beyond the scope of the remedial statute.
"(U)ncontradicted evidence that a mistake was made is not sufficient absent a substantial showing that the true facts could not have been ascertained through the exercise of...
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