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  1. #1
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    Oct 2014
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    Default Filing a Late Claim Against a State Agency After Missing the Deadline

    Greetings to all....This is my 1st post on this forum; I'm hoping to get some guidance for "Filing a Petition for Leave to File a Late Claim" against CHP (State of California) I hope I'm using the correct terms.....This is my situation: In February 2014, I filed a petition with the OAL for an illegal underground regulation the CHP has been enforcing since approximately the 1980's and this underground regulation is what CHP has based my husband's termination and denial of participating in the CHP Tow program. This resulted in losing 10 contracts with various law enforcement agencies after over a decade of providing tow service to them....this resulted in a major loss of revenue, loss of equipment, credit rating severely damaged, and a loss of a home due to no revenue. Law enforcement tows were 90% of our revenue....hence no revenue = not being able to pay the bills.

    Basically CHP was not recognizing a dismissal pursuant to 1203.4 PC for tow drivers to participate in their towing program. I filed the petition and won. CHP was mandated to stop enforcing the section in their Highway Patrol manual that disqualified drivers who received dismissal pursuant to 1203.4 and had to revise the manual in April 2014.

    Here is where I'm running into a problem: I filed a California government claim (in Sacramento) against CHP for denying & terminating my husbands eligibility since 2011 soon as I won the petition with OAL and received a letter from California CHP Commission Farrow in April 2014 indicating that CHP will revise their manual and stop enforcing the section that referenced dismissals pursuant to 1203.4. On October 16, 2014, the Ca. Government Claims Program denied my claim for late filing; stating I should have filed in 2011 when the termination & denial occurred...I explained to them that it wasn't until we filed and won the petition with OAL (April 2014) that we were aware that a violation of my husband's civil rights had taken place by CHP.....I argued the denial of claim/late filing pursuant to the DISCOVERY OF HARM RULE.....They still denied my claim.....I was told that now I need to file a Petition of Relief for Late Filing with the courts.....

    I have been searching online everywhere and can't seem to find any info on how to file this petition of relief. Shouldn't the Discovery of Harm Rule pertain to this claim?

    Hopefully I have made this situation clear and didn't ramble on to much.....I look forward to receiving some great guidance and advice from this forum and members......

    BTW: Any attorney's out there what to take on the case???

    Thanx all

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Filing a Late Claim Against a State Agency After Missing the Deadline

    You're trying to seek relief under Government Code Sec. 946.6?
    Quote Quoting JJ v. County of San Diego (2014) 223 Cal. App. 4th 1214 (167 Cal. Rptr. 3d 861)
    "Government Code section 946.6 is a remedial statute intended to provide relief from technical rules which otherwise provide a trap for the unwary. The remedial policy underlying the statute is that wherever possible cases should be heard on their merits. Thus, a denial of such relief by the trial court is examined more rigorously than where relief is granted and any doubts which may exist should be resolved in favor of the application. (Bettencourt v. Los Rios Community College Dist. [(1986)] 42 Cal.3d [270,] 275-276 [228 Cal.Rptr. 190, 721 P.2d 71]; Drummond v. County of Fresno [(1987)] 193 Cal.App.3d [1406,] 1410-1411 [238 Cal.Rptr. 613].)

    (5) "Relief from the six-month limit is granted under the same showing as is required for relief under Code of Civil Procedure section 473. (Viles v. State of California (1967) 66 Cal.2d 24, 29 [56 Cal.Rptr. 666, 423 P.2d 818] [construing predecessor statutes].) It is the well-recognized policy of the law to liberally construe remedial statutes designed to protect persons within their purview, and the modern trend of judicial decisions favors granting relief unless absolutely forbidden by statute." (Munoz, supra, 33 Cal.App.4th at p. 1778.)

    However, "[f]iling a late-claim application within one year after the accrual of a cause of action is a jurisdictional prerequisite to a claim-relief petition. (Santee v. Santa Clara County Office of Education [(1990)] 220 Cal.App.3d [702,] 713 [269 Cal.Rptr. 605].) When the underlying application to file a late claim is filed more than one year after the accrual of the cause of action, the court is without jurisdiction to grant relief under Government Code section 946.6. (Greyhound Lines, Inc. v. County of Santa Clara (1986) 187 Cal.App.3d 480, 488 [231 Cal.Rptr. 702].)" (Munoz, supra, 33 Cal.App.4th at p. 1779; see § 911.4, subd. (b).)

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
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    Default Re: Filing a Late Claim Against a State Agency After Missing the Deadline

    Yes, that's correct...my denial letter is stating "...I must first petition the appropriate court for an order relieving me from provision of 945.4GC and 946.6GC. I'm trying to file all this myself. I can't seems to find any forms or instruction on how to go about this. How do I know what court to file with? I really appreciate your help.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Filing a Late Claim Against a State Agency After Missing the Deadline

    A cause of action accrues when the person claiming injury has reason at least to suspect a factual basis for its elements, specifically the generic elements of wrongdoing, causation, and harm. "A plaintiff who suspects that he or she has suffered an injury caused by the wrongdoing of another is charged with the knowledge that a reasonable investigation would reveal, and the limitations period begins to run at that time." Ovando v. County of Los Angeles (2008) 159 Cal.App.4th 42. "When a suspicion exists, the plaintiff must go find the facts; he or she cannot wait for the facts to find him or her." San Francisco Unified School Dist. v. W.R. Grace & Co. (1995) 37 Cal.App.4th 1318.

    It is difficult for me to conceive of a court finding that your spouse did not understand that he had suffered an injury, who caused that injury, or the basis of the injury given that he (through you) was able to file a complaint specifying all of the above which resulted in the determination that you hope to use as the basis to argue for the tolling of the deadline for filing. All I can do is suggest that your husband a lawyer who specializes in claims against government agencies, and seeing if he can come up with a way to get him around the missed deadlines for filing the complaint and for filing the petition for relief.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
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    7

    Default Re: Filing a Late Claim Against a State Agency After Missing the Deadline

    Would the "Discovery of Harm" help in this situation? We were fighting the CHP through hearings and appeals since 2011....BUT it wasn't until I filed with OAL (April 2014) for an illegal underground regulation the CHP was enforcing and actually won. By winning this petition and CHP had to stop enforcing the regulation that disqualified my husband, it was then we filed our claim...the "Harm" wasn't legally known to us until we "defeated" the CHP. Does this make sense? I hope I'm explaining it clearly. We challenged CHP's regulations and defeated them...We were unaware prior to April2014 that CHP was enforcing an illegal regulation...therefore, I feel our claim was filed in a timely manner. Correct?

  6. #6
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    Default Re: 1203.4 Dismissal Not Recognized by California Highway Patrol

    Stop spamming the board with the same question over and over. Post each question ONCE. The same people read all the relevant forums - you will not get more or better answers by posting the same question multiple times.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
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    7

    Default Re: 1203.4 Dismissal Not Recognized by California Highway Patrol

    Sorry about that.......New here.....Thank you for the heads up

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