City of Stockton v. Superior Court

Civic Partners Stockton, LLC (Civic) (plaintiff) entered into an agreement with the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Stockton (Agency) (defendant) involving the rehabilitation of Hotel Stockton. Civic also leased the upper floors of the hotel to the City of Stockton (City) for office space. The City later repudiated the lease, and the Agency entered into a new agreement with a different company to rehabilitate Hotel Stockton. The new agreement conflicted with Civic’s agreement. The City and the Agency allegedly assured Civic that they would protect Civic’s interests, but they did not. Civic sued the City and the Agency. Civic did not present any claims to the City or the Agency notifying them about potential litigation before Civic filed the lawsuit. The City and the Agency filed two successful, or demurrers, and the court let Civic file amended complaints to fix the issues raised in those two motions. The first two motions did not complain about Civic’s failure to present a claim prior to filing suit. However, the City and the Agency then demurred to Civic’s second amended complaint on the grounds that Civic had failed to comply with its obligation to present a claim to these local public entities prior to filing suit. The trial court denied this motion, finding that the pre-litigation claim-presentation requirement did not apply to contractual claims. The California Court of Appeal reversed. Civic then petitioned the California Supreme Court for review.