98-160RESOLUTION NO. 98R-160
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, REQUESTING THE LEAGUE
OF CALIFORNIA CITIES TO SPONSOR LEGISLATION
WHICH LIMITS LOCAL GOVERNMENT LIABILITY FOR
PROPERTY DAMAGE CAUSED BY HILLSLIDES AND
MUDSLIDES
WHEREAS, there is currently no special legislation to protect
local government against claims for property damage caused by
hillslides and mudslides; and
WHEREAS, local government is often perceived by property
owners as the "insurer of last resort" since homeowner's insurance
policies do not cover hillslide and mudslide property damage; and
WHEREAS, it is impossible for local government to predict, and
therefore, protect against, property damage from natural disasters
such as hillslides and mudslides at the time developments are approved
or accepted; and
WHEREAS, California Code of Civil Procedure Section 337.15
provides that, "[n]o action may be brought to recover damages from any
person, or the surety of a person, who develops real property or
performs or furnishes the design, specifications, surveying, planning,
supervision, testing, or observation of construction or construction
of an improvement to real property more than 10 years after the
substantial completion of the development or improvement for . . (1)
Any latent deficiency in the design, specification, surveying,
planning, supervision, or observation of construction or construction
of an improvement to, or survey of, real property jori (2) Injury to
property, real or personal, arising out of any such latent
deficiency;" and
WHEREAS, Assemblyman Scott Baugh introduced legislation (AB
2631) on behalf of the City of Anaheim to extend the protections of
Code of Civil Procedure Section 337.15 to local government, which
subsequently failed in the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Anaheim,
California requests the League of California Cities at its 1998 Annual
Conference to sponsor legislation during the 1998-1999 legislative
session to extend the protections of Code of Civil Procedure Section
337.15 to local government.