BLACK DIAMOND ASPHALT, INC. v. Superior Court

We granted an alternative writ in this case to determine whether the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA), an unincorporated association with its principal business in the County of Los Angeles, may only be sued in that county despite the fact that CIGA allegedly incurred a statutory liability to defend the plaintiff in a lawsuit in San Joaquin County.

Code of Civil Procedure section 395.5 (all further unspecified statutory references are to this code) permits an association such as CIGA to be sued in the county “where the obligation or liability arises.” We conclude this section permits venue in San Joaquin County where the obligation plaintiff seeks to enforce is strictly statutory rather than one sounding in tort or contract. We will issue a peremptory writ.

Background

Petitioner herein, Black Diamond Asphalt, Inc. (Black Diamond), was named along with Jesus Garcia Adames as a defendant in a wrongful death suit filed in San Joaquin County (Romo v. Garcia, hereafter the Romo lawsuit). The plaintiffs in the Romo lawsuit are the surviving heirs of decedent Martin Romo Aimaras. They allege that on October 27, 1999, Adames was driving a tractor-truck while…