City of Pasadena v. Superior Court of L. A. Cnty.

*1343 INTRODUCTION

Under the Government Claims Act ( Gov. Code, § 810 et seq. ), before commencing an action against a public entity, a plaintiff must present the claim to the entity within six months of "the date upon which the cause of action would be deemed to have accrued within the meaning of the statute of limitations which would be applicable thereto." ( Gov. Code, § 901.) In the underlying action, real parties in interest Sandra Reyes Jauregui and Mario Reyes Jauregui *101 (the Jaureguis) filed a first amended complaint (FAC), alleging a cause of action against petitioner City of Pasadena (the City) arising from Sandra Jauregui's mesothelioma. The City demurred to the Jaureguis' complaint, arguing that they had failed to comply with the claim presentation requirement of the Government Claims Act by not presenting their claim to the City within six months of the date of Sandra's mesothelioma diagnosis. The Jaureguis opposed the demurrer, arguing that their claim presentation was timely because under the applicable statute of limitations- Code of Civil Procedure section 340.2 -their cause of action never accrued. 1 Thus, they asserted, the six-month claim presentation…