What If the Defendant Is a Public Entity? California's Government Claims Act Explained

When the defendant is a California public entity, such as a school district, county or state agency, the Government Claims Act generally requires a written claim to the agency, usually within six months, before suing over most injuries. Childhood sexual abuse claims differ: local entities require no pre-lawsuit claim, and the deadline to sue depends on when the abuse occurred.

Learning that the person or institution connected to the harm was part of a public school, a county program or another government body can raise new questions, such as whether a claim is possible at all and whether a deadline may already have passed. This guide explains how the general claims process works, which entities it covers, and where the rules for sexual abuse survivors depart from it.

When the Person or Agency That Harmed You Is Part of the Government

Governments in California once could not be sued for most injuries, under sovereign immunity (the old rule that the government cannot be sued without its consent). California replaced it with the Government Claims Act, Government Code sections 810 through 996.6, which allows suits against public bodies on stated procedural conditions and deadlines that do not apply to private defendants.

In sexual abuse cases, the defendants most often discussed are public school districts, county foster care and juvenile programs, and public healthcare facilities.

What the Government Claims Act Actually Requires

For most injury claims, the Act requires a written claim to the public entity before any lawsuit, a condition precedent (a step that must happen before the next step is allowed). The claim goes to the agency's claims office; the lawsuit is filed later, in superior court.

Under Gov. Code § 910, a claim must show:

• the claimant's name and post office address;
• the address where notices should be sent;
• the date, place and other circumstances of the occurrence;
• a general description of the injury, damage or loss, so far as it is known;
• the name of the public employee or employees involved, if known; and
• the amount claimed if it is less than $10,000; above that, no dollar amount is included, only whether the case would be a limited civil case.

Gov. Code § 912.4 gives the entity's board 45 days to act. If it does nothing, the claim is "deemed rejected" on the last day of that period. The claimant and the board may agree in writing to extend the time.

The Six-Month Deadline, and Why It Is Shorter Than You May Expect

The core deadline is in Gov. Code § 911.2(a):

"A claim relating to a cause of action for death or for injury to person or to personal property or growing crops shall be presented ... not later than six months after the accrual of the cause of action."

Accrual is the date the law treats a claim as having come into existence, usually the date of injury. Six months is much shorter than the two-year limit for most injury suits against private defendants under Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1.

When the deadline is missed, Gov. Code § 911.4 allows a written application for leave to present a late claim, within a reasonable time not exceeding one year after accrual, stating the reason for the delay. Time spent as a minor counts toward that year. Some time does not count, including certain periods when a child is a dependent in the custody of the same public entity and that entity failed to make a required abuse report.

If the application is denied, Gov. Code § 946.6 allows a petition to the superior court within six months. The court must grant relief on certain showings, including mistake or excusable neglect, or that the injured person was a minor during the claim period, subject to timing conditions.

Which Public Entities Are Covered, and Which Claims Are Not

Gov. Code § 811.2 defines "public entity" to include the state, the Regents of the University of California, the Trustees of the California State University and the California State University, a county, city, district, public authority, public agency, and any other political subdivision or public corporation in the State.

Federal agencies are not covered. Claims against the United States follow the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2671 et seq.

• Vicarious liability. Under § 815.2, an entity can be responsible for harm caused by an employee acting within the scope of employment, generally where the employee could be liable.
• Employee liability. Under § 820, a public employee is generally liable to the same extent as a private person.
• Mandatory duty. Under § 815.6, where a law requires an entity to act to protect against a particular kind of injury, the entity can be liable when it fails to perform, unless it shows reasonable diligence.
• Discretionary immunity. Under § 820.2, an employee is generally not liable for an exercise of discretion.

Other immunities attach to particular facts, including dangerous conditions of public property beginning at § 830.

How the Process Differs From a Standard Personal Injury Case

1. Identify the correct entity. Each connected entity requires its own claim.
2. Present the written claim within six months of accrual under § 911.2.
3. Wait for the response, up to 45 days under § 912.4.
4. File suit after rejection. Under Gov. Code § 945.6(a)(1), if the entity gives written notice of rejection, the suit generally must be filed within six months of that notice.

Against a private defendant, there is no agency claim. The California Courts publish an overview on their self-help site.

What This Means for Survivors of Sexual Abuse or Assault by a Public Employee

Childhood sexual abuse claims are governed by Code Civ. Proc. § 340.1, and much of the general process above does not apply to them.

The claim-presentation step. For local public entities, such as school districts, counties and cities, the Government Claims Act exempts these claims from pre-suit presentation, and a local entity cannot impose its own claim procedure instead. That exemption has no condition tied to the date of the abuse. Claims against the State have no comparable exemption in that provision; for a state defendant the exemption reaches abuse on or after January 1, 2024 only.

The deadline to sue.

• Abuse on or after January 1, 2024: there is no time limit to bring the civil action.
• Abuse on or before December 31, 2023: the AB 218 rule applies: by age 40, or within five years of discovering that an injury was caused by the abuse, whichever is later.

AB 218's revival window, January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2022, has closed. See our guides to school sexual abuse and childhood sexual abuse.

Adult survivors. A revival window is open until December 31, 2026 for otherwise time-barred claims arising from assault on or after January 1, 2009, with two carve-outs: a claim litigated to finality, and a claim settled in writing before January 1, 2023. A second window, January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027, excludes public entities entirely. See our guide to adult sexual assault.

Finding the Right Counsel When a Public Entity Is Involved

People evaluating counsel often ask whether an attorney has handled claims against the specific type of public defendant involved. Our page on confidentiality in sexual abuse claims covers privacy. Justice for Survivors handles civil claims for sexual abuse and sexual assault only.

If You Have Questions, Privately

If you were harmed by someone working for a school district, county, state agency or other public body, you may have the right to pursue a civil claim. California law allows a survivor to seek compensation for emotional harm, therapy and medical costs, lost income, and other damages the law allows, and in some cases to seek justice from the institution that failed to protect them as well as from the individual. Because California has extended and revived its deadlines, options may exist even when the abuse happened many years ago.

A confidential case review covers which deadline rule likely applies, whether the defendant is a local entity or the State, and whether a pre-lawsuit claim is required. It is free and private, carries no obligation, and nothing needs to be gathered or decided first. No one has to describe what happened in order to ask a question.

To ask privately what these rules mean for your situation, call Justice for Survivors at (866) 694-1630 for a confidential case review.