Pappas v. Trustees of the Cal. State University CA4/1

Filed 4/30/25 Pappas v. Trustees of the Cal. State University CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SHIRLYN PAPPAS, D084860

Plaintiff and Appellant, (Super. Ct. No. 37-2023- v. 00047390-CU-PO-CTL) TRUSTEES OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY,

Defendant and Respondent.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Michael T. Smyth, Judge. Affirmed. Wilshire Law Firm and Sutton Shapiro, for Plaintiff and Appellant. Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara, John Paul Salem, and Scott D. Hoy, for Defendant and Respondent.

Shirlyn Pappas appeals from an order denying her petition for relief from the claim presentation requirements of the Government Claims Act (the Act, Gov. Code, § 810 et seq.1). She argues the trial court abused its

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Government Code.

discretion in denying her petition for relief due to the mistake or excusable neglect of her attorney. Finding no abuse of discretion, we affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On January 21, 2023,2 Pappas attended an event at Snapdragon Stadium (the Stadium) in San Diego when a metal water bottle struck the top of her head. On March 14, Pappas’s attorney (Attorney) sent a letter to the Stadium requesting insurance information but received no response. Attorney investigated the ownership of the Stadium and confused the Stadium with a facility known, at various times, as San Diego Stadium, Jack Murphy Stadium, and Qualcomm Stadium. On July 18, Attorney presented written claims for damages to the City of San Diego (City) and the County of San Diego (County). On August 1, the County sent a “Notice of Insufficient Claim” stating no action would be taken on the claim. On September 11, the City sent a letter stating it did not own the property. In further communications regarding the deficiencies, Attorney learned in or around mid-October that California State University (University) owns the Stadium. On October 18, Attorney applied to the University for leave to present a late claim. After the University denied the request, Attorney filed a petition for relief from the claim presentation requirements of the Act in July 2024. The trial court denied the petition, finding Attorney’s mistake inexcusable. DISCUSSION A. Legal Principles Before suing a public entity for damages, a party must first file a claim with the entity (§§ 905, 910, 945.4) within six months of the injury (§ 911.2, subd. (a)). If the claim is late, the party may apply to the public entity for