McCurdy v. County of Riverside

Donald McCurdy (plaintiff) was convicted for burglary and spousal abuse. The court placed him on probation. In 2020, a district attorney sought to revoke McCurdy’s probation. At a revocation hearing, the attorney argued McCurdy had violated probation by leaving the county and by contacting his spouse to deliver a card prepared by the couple’s child. McCurdy’s public defender stopped McCurdy’s testimony before he could explain that he left the county with permission to attend a family-court hearing and that a social worker delivered the card. The trial court revoked McCurdy’s probation and sent McCurdy to prison. In 2021, McCurdy filed a habeas corpus petition, arguing his detention was improper because he was denied effective assistance of counsel. The court of appeal granted the petition on June 16, 2022. Remittitur transferring the case to the trial court for implementation was issued on August 17, 2022. On June 30, 2023, McCurdy presented a claim to Riverside County (Riverside) (defendant) for damages from his wrongful imprisonment. Relying on the Government Claims Act, Riverside denied the claim because it was not presented within six months of the probation revocation. Riverside denied McCurdy’s subsequent application to present a late claim. McCurdy petitioned the trial court for relief from the Government Claims Act’s notice requirement. He argued that his claim accrued on the remittitur date of August 17, 2022, and that it was a contract claim for legal malpractice that was subject to a one-year notice period, not a six-month period. Alternatively, McCurdy argued he should be excused from the notice requirement because he struggled to find an attorney to represent him and three attorneys had advised that his claim was subject to a one-year notice requirement. The trial court denied relief, effectively preventing McCurdy’s claim. McCurdy appealed.