Kumari
Kumari v. Hosp. Comm. for the Livermore-Pleasanton Areas
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Jones, J.
*308 On October 29, 2013, while she was hospitalized after giving birth, Veena Kumari fell and broke her right shoulder. On February 19, 2014, Kumari sent ValleyCare Health System (ValleyCare) a detailed letter describing her injury and the basis for her "medical negligence" claim. Kumari requested $240,000 and advised ValleyCare she would "move to the court" if she did not receive a check within 20 days. ValleyCare denied Kumari's claim.
On January 23, 2015-more than a year after her injury-Kumari and her husband (collectively, plaintiffs) sued ValleyCare for medical negligence and loss of consortium. 1 The trial court granted ValleyCare's summary judgment motion, concluding Kumari's letter constituted a notice of intent to sue pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 364 2 which did not extend the statute of limitations. The court concluded the complaint was time-barred and entered judgment for ValleyCare.
Plaintiffs appeal, contending Kumari's letter was not a notice of intent to sue within the meaning of section 364. We disagree and affirm. In doing so, we reject plaintiffs' claim that an author's subjective *437 motivation for writing a letter to a health care provider…