Opinion ID: 2631047
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: School District's Demurrer to Plaintiffs Complaint

Text: As discussed earlier, on September 23, 2003, 41-year-old plaintiff sued the School District under subdivision (c) of section 340.1, alleging, as relevant here, two causes of action for negligence based on the district's employment of teacher Jones. Plaintiff alleged that on September 12, 2003, when she consulted a licensed mental health professional, she learned she was suffering from psychological injuries caused by teacher Jones's sexual abuse of her in 1978 and 1979, when she was a teenager. The School District successfully demurred to both causes of action, arguing that not only were the 25 year old negligence claims time-barred, but also that they were not subject to the revival provision in subdivision (c) of section 340.1, because of plaintiffs failure to present a claim to the School District at the time of her molestation by Jones. Generally, a cause of action for childhood sexual molestation accrues at the time of molestation. ( John R. v. Oakland Unified School Dist. (1989) 48 Cal.3d 438, 443, 256 Cal.Rptr. 766, 769 P.2d 948; Doe v. Bakersfield City School Dist. (2006) 136 Cal.App.4th 556, 567, fn. 2, 39 Cal.Rptr.3d 79; Ortega v. Pajaro Valley Unified School Dist. (1998) 64 Cal.App.4th 1023, 1053, 75 Cal.Rptr.2d 777.) Here, plaintiffs complaint alleged that her molestation by teacher Jones began in May 1978 and ended in November 1979. The trial court found that plaintiffs cause of action accrued on November 30, 1979 (the last possible act of molestation), and that under the then-applicable 100-day deadline for presenting a claim to a public entity (former Gov.Code, § 911.2, added by Stats. 1963, ch. 1715, § 1, p. 3372) she was required to submit a claim to the School District at some point in 1980. Plaintiff, however, did not submit a claim to the School District until September 12, 2003, nearly 25 years after the last act of molestation.