Kaatz

Code of Civil Procedure sections 860 through 870 (hereafter the validation statutes) provide an expedited process by which certain public agency actions may be determined valid and not subject to attack. The public agency may validate its action by either active or passive means. It may initiate an action in rem to establish the validity of the matter. (§ 860.) Alternatively, the agency may do nothing, and if no “interested person” brings suit to determine the validity of the public agency’s action within 60 days (§ 863), the action is deemed valid. (§ 869.) But not all actions of a public agency are subject to validation, and the present case requires us to determine the limits of the validation statutes.

Benjamin Kaatz brought suit as a taxpayer to challenge certain actions of the City of Seaside (City) arising out of its purchase and sale of 105 acres of residential property that were formerly part of the Fort Ord military base. Kaatz claimed, among other things, that immediately after the City purchased the property from the United States Army in July 2002, it conveyed the entire acreage to a developer, K&B Bakewell Seaside Venture, LLC (K&B Bakewell), for a fraction…