Legal Question in Consumer Law in California

Re: Claim against a city

What are you doing presenting (not "filing") your own claim without a lawyer? You obviously aren't serious, and you will almost certainly lose.

The city will send you a letter rejecting (not "denying") your claim. You will then have to file a Superior Court complaint; and a motion for leave to present a late claim, this has to be filed in a "reasonable time not to exceed one year." The filing fee for this complaint and motion will set you back $360, and the filing fee for the lawsuit based on the claim is another $320. You have to provide a legally valid excuse for not having presented your claim within the six months. After one year you are SOL (the colloquialism, not the statute) as far as presenting a claim or getting permission to present a late claim.

Some types of claims, for example federal civil rights lawsuits filed in federal court, can be filed without first presenting a claim in which case the normal SOL (typically, but not always, 2 years) applies.

You are way out of your league as far as even thinking about trying to sue the city acting as your own lawyer, even more so than in other types of cases involving defendants who are not public entities.

I am not responsible for correctly computing the SOL

or claim presentment deadline on your case, or for correctly interpreting any of these complex laws and rules, unless we enter into a paid attorney-client relationship memorialized by a written retainer agreement.