Hernandez
Hernandez v. Garcetti
Opinion
Opinion
Coffee, J.
Jovanna Hernandez (appellant) filed a government tort claim for third party spoliation of evidence against respondent Gilbert Garcetti (District Attorney). The claim was denied as untimely under the California Tort Claims Act (Gov. Code, § 900 et seq.), and the trial court denied appellant’s petition for relief under section 946.6. We affirm.
Facts
On August 31, 1996, appellant was a passenger in a Ford Thunderbird driven by her husband. She was seriously injured when he crashed the car. Los Angeles Police Department officers arrested appellant’s husband for driving under the influence. The car was impounded by, and stored at, ATS Towing Company (ATS).
On October 15, 1996, appellant retained Attorney Mitchell W. Roth (Roth) to represent her in a personal injury action. Roth began to investigate whether defective seat belts in the car had contributed to appellant’s injuries.
Sometime between October 17 and October 30, 1996, Roth contacted ATS to arrange for an inspection of the car. He spoke to an employee named “Rubin,” who told him the car was on the lot, but could not be inspected because neither appellant nor her husband was a registered owner and the owner’s…