Watson v. City of Santa Ana CA4/3

Filed 1/6/25 Watson v. City of Santa Ana CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

KHALIL WATSON,

Plaintiff and Appellant, G064370

v. (Super. Ct. No. 30-2024- 01375847) CITY OF SANTA ANA et al., OPINION Defendants and Respondents.

Appeal from an order of the Superior Court of Orange County, Layne H. Melzer, Judge. Affirmed. Cline, Brian K. Cline and Mark A. Johnson for Plaintiff and Appellant. Sonia R. Carvalho, City Attorney and Jonathan R. TerKeurst, Assistant City Attorney, for Defendants and Respondents. * * *

Plaintiff Khalil Watson appeals from an order denying his petition for relief to file a late claim against the City of Santa Ana (the City) pursuant to Government Code section 946.6.1 Watson contends the court abused its discretion by finding he failed to show his delay resulted from mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. We find no abuse of discretion and affirm the order. STATEMENT OF FACTS I. WATSON’S CITIZENS COMPLAINT AND CLAIM AGAINST THE CITY In February 2023, Watson filed a citizens complaint with the Santa Ana police department. According to the complaint, Watson was detained by police officers after a traffic stop on January 25, 2023. He ultimately was issued a citation. Watson was required to present a claim to the City by July 25, 2023, within six months of the incident. (§ 911.2.) On September 11, 2023, Watson submitted a claim against the City and an application for permission to file a late claim. In his claim, Watson noted he was stopped for an alleged traffic violation without cause and was illegally searched and detained. In the application, Watson explained the reasons for his delay in presenting a claim. Among other things, he stated: “I was advised to wait until after the [criminal] matter was to be litigated to strengthen my lawsuit.” He also noted he was out of state in July 2023 due to a family emergency. Watson further explained he submitted a citizens complaint to the Santa Ana police department and was told that someone would contact him, but no one ever did. The City denied Watson’s application for leave to file a late claim.