Wood v. Pioneer Fire Protection Dist. CA3

Filed 10/26/21 Wood v. Pioneer Fire Protection Dist. CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (El Dorado) ----

KATHERINE WOOD, C089712

Plaintiff and Appellant, (Super. Ct. No. PC20190038)

v.

PIONEER FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT,

Defendant and Respondent.

Katherine Wood appeals from the superior court’s denial of her petition for relief from the claim presentation requirement of Government Code section 945.4.1, 2 Wood served the wrong public entity with her claim on the next to last day for doing so under the Government Claims Act (§ 810 et seq.). She now argues the court abused its

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Government Code. 2This case was fully briefed on October 30, 2020. The panel as presently constituted was assigned this matter in May 2021.

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discretion when it denied her petition seeking relief on the ground of mistake, inadvertence, surprise, and excusable neglect. We affirm. I. BACKGROUND Wood resigned from her job at the Pioneer Fire Protection District (District) on March 9, 2018. Nearly six months later, on Friday, September 7, 2018, Wood presented a claim to the County of El Dorado (County). In it, she alleged she had worked at the District as the district administrative secretary/assistant for five years until she was constructively discharged on March 9. Wood alleged she was harassed and retaliated against by the board of directors and District personnel for reporting what she understood to be unlawful activity, including “improper use of District funds,” and because her husband had made his own complaints. On September 12, 2018, the County rejected the claim, explaining that “[t]he Pioneer Fire Protection District is a separately constituted and governed public agency over which the County of El Dorado exercises no administrative or operational control. Any liability alleged to arise out of the conduct of employees or directors of the Pioneer Fire Protection District does not create a justiciable controversy between your client and the County of El Dorado.” On September 21, 2018, Wood presented a claim to the District. The District returned the claim because it had not been presented within six months. Wood submitted an application to the District for leave to present a late claim based on mistake, inadvertence, surprise, and excusable neglect. Specifically, the application stated that “[a]t the time the claim was submitted, [Wood]’s counsel was not aware that Pioneer Fire Protection District required that [c]laim [f]orms be submitted directly to the district rather than submitting it to the County.” The District denied the application.