lawprofessors

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Filing a required claim form with a government agency, such as a school or school district, prior to moving to court can be a daunting and confusing task.  I have previously written about the pre-court filing requirement for certain claims against a school or school district ( here ,  here  and  here ) but wanted to add a list of some exclusions (may not be an exhaustive list) for parents and students.   I don't need to reiterate my earlier posts on filing and late filing, but one code section is relevant when evaluating whether a pre-court filing may be required or not.    California Government Code section 905  states: "There shall be presented in accordance with Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 900) and Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 910) all claims for money or damages against local public entities except any of the following: (a) Claims under the Revenue and Ta...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 The last two posts concerned filing the prerequisite claim form prior to going to court if one is suing a governmental entity in California.  But,  WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU MISS THE SIX MONTH TIME LIMIT TO FILE YOUR CLAIM?   First, don't forget exclusions to the filing requirement which may exempt some claims from filing at all. This post presumes the 6 month time limit may apply. Remember, there are two time limits we have discussed for filing a claim form: one at 6 months for certain types of claims (e.g. personal injury, death, etc.), one at one year (claims not within the 6 month requirement) ( here ).   Whether and how someone may file the required notification with the governing body for claims required within the 6 month time period  after that 6 month period, will likely depend on the claimant and what they can prove. An example of a potential claim to be filed within 6 months could be...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Yesterday I blogged about the information which must be communicated to a school district prior to filing in court.  This blog will address the very important time limits in place in California for such notice under the Government Code. There are strict time limits with regard to filing claims against school districts (and other governmental entities) under California law, which the courts do honor.  A case may be rejected if the student (or claimant) did not file the required notice timely with the District (see yesterday's blog here ) and file in court timely after that process is complete. Time for filing with the governing body: For personal injury claims, claims for death or damage to person or property, and claims for damage to crops (crop damage does not typically come up with my office!), the notice to be filed with the governing body must be presented within 6 months of the accrual of the cause of...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 In California, the Government Code sets forth the requirements for suing a public (government) entity in the state courts.  That code requires that the entity and its ruling body be provided with written notice IN ADVANCE of fling a claim in court in many situations.  This is a mandatory prerequisite to filing a legal action and applies to actions against public school districts, public college districts, and other governmental entities in the state.  This blog will cover generally what should be provided to the governmental entity.  My blog tomorrow will cover some very important time limits and the two should be read in conjunction.  I will also follow with a third blog (maybe more) to address other aspects. Content of Notice  Government code section 910 and the surrounding sections, requires the following be provided to the government entity: [requirements abbreviated below- see th...