Travelers Indemnity Co. v. City of Redondo Beach

The Travelers Indemnity Company of Illinois (Travelers) appeals from an order dismissing its first amended complaint after the demurrer of the respondents was sustained without leave to amend.

The pivotal issue in this case relates to the application of the 180-day limitations period set out in Code of Civil Procedure section 3493A. We conclude that this special legislation, enacted for expressly stated reasons of public policy to limit the period in which an action can be brought for an “underground trespass, use or occupancy [caused] by means of a well drilled for oil or gas . . . ,” does not apply. We cannot broadly read this statute, as respondents would have us do, to impose on nearly every claim arising from an oil drilling operation a six-month limitation period. We therefore reverse the order of dismissal except for the trespass cause of action, which is plainly covered by section 3493/t, and one other count, which is defective for a separate and independent reason. As to those two counts we affirm the order.

Factual and Procedural Background

On January 17, 1988, a powerful winter storm caused ocean waves to overtop the breakwater in Redondo Beach Harbor. This…