Lineaweaver v. Southern California Rapid Transit District

Opinion

ROTH, P. J.

On June 8, 1979, appellant Robert R. Lineaweaver allegedly was a victim of an accident involving one of respondent transit district’s buses. Having failed to file a timely claim in respect thereof, agreeably with Government Code section 911.2,

1

he made application on January 14, 1980, for leave to file a late claim pursuant to section 911.4,

2

which application we deemed

[740]

denied on or about March 1 the same year.

3

In contravention of section 945.4,

4

and on May 31, 1980, appellant filed his complaint for personal injury arising out of the accident. When respondent demurred on the grounds no timely claim had been submitted nor had relief been granted or even sought pursuant to section 946.6,

5

appellant filed in succession two amended complaints, the last of which, filed April 9, 1981, was ultimately deemed by the trial court to be, as well, a petition under the last cited statute. That petition was then also denied, in an order which provides the basis for this appeal.

Concisely describing the procedure which should have been followed in the instant matter, the court in

Rivera

v.

City of Carson

(1981) 117 Cal.App.3d 718 at page 723 [173 Cal.Rptr. 4] observed that: “Section 911.2 requires that a claim relating to personal injury must be presented to a public entity within 100 days following accrual of the cause of action. When such a claim has not been timely presented, section 911.4 permits written application to the public entity for leave to file a late claim. If the public entity denies such an application, section 946.6, subdivision (a), authorizes a petition to the superior court for relief from the provisions of section 945.4 requiring the presentation of a written claim to a public entity before an action for damages may be brought against it.”