Price v. County of Butte CA3

Filed 2/25/21 Price v. County of Butte CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Butte) ----

WILLIAM HENRY PRICE, C090124

Plaintiff and Appellant, (Super. Ct. No. 19CV00660)

v.

COUNTY OF BUTTE et al.,

Defendants and Respondents.

Plaintiff William Henry Price (Price), acting in propria persona, appeals the denial of a petition for relief from the claim presentation requirements of the Government Claims Act (Gov. Code, § 810 et seq., the Act).1 We conclude the trial court correctly denied his petition as untimely and, therefore, affirm.

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Government Code.

1

BACKGROUND FACTS AND PROCEDURE On May 7, 2016, Price was arrested and charged with a felony in connection with a domestic violence incident. On February 2, 2018, Price presented a claim under the Act to the County of Butte (the County) seeking $7.2 million in damages for an alleged abuse of power in connection with his arrest. On February 20, 2018, the County rejected Price’s claim as untimely because it was not presented within six months of the date of the occurrence or event from which the alleged claim arose. The County informed Price that he could apply for leave to present a late claim under sections 911.4 to 912.2. On or about March 8, 2018, Price applied for leave to present a late claim. Price asserted that the reason for the delay in presenting his claim was the “duress” of defending against the criminal charges filed against him without probable cause. On March 27, 2018, the County denied Price’s application for leave to present a late claim, but informed him that he could file a petition under section 946.6 of the Act for an order relieving him from the claim presentation requirements. The County’s letter also informed Price that any “[s]uch petition must be filed with the court within six (6) months from the date your application for leave to present a late claim was denied.” On February 27, 2019, approximately 11 months after his application for leave to present a late claim was denied, Price filed a petition in the superior court seeking relief from the claim presentation requirements under section 946.6. On March 20, 2019, Price’s petition came on for hearing. There were no appearances, and the court affirmed its tentative ruling to deny the petition on two grounds: (1) the petition was untimely under section 946.6, subdivision (b), and (2) Price failed to comply with the notice requirements of section 946.6, subdivision (d), and Code of Civil Procedure section 1005. On May 2, 2019, Price timely appealed from the order denying his petition for relief.