Martin

I. BACKGROUND

On March 7, 2023, plaintiffs submitted a complaint for negligence and wrongful death to the superior court clerk for filing. The complaint alleged March 11, 2021 as the date of loss. A summons and civil case cover sheet accompanied the complaint. The clerk file-stamped the complaint as received on March 7, 2023. On March 14, 2023, the clerk returned these documents to plaintiffs with a notice informing them that only one box instead of two should have been checked in a section of the civil case cover sheet. Plaintiffs corrected the purported error and refiled the complaint on March 22, 2023. Defendants filed a demurrer, contending that plaintiffs’ entire action was time-barred because the complaint was filed 11 days after the applicable two-year statute of limitations had expired on March 11, 2023. Plaintiffs countered that it would be unfair for the trial court to find their claims untimely because they submitted their complaint for filing before the limitations period ran and that submission was only rejected due to a defect in the civil case cover sheet. Plaintiffs did not, however, cite any legal authorities in their opposition. The court agreed with defendants…