California Code of Civil Procedure 337.1 – (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, no action …
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, no action shall be brought to recover damages from any person performing or furnishing the design, specifications, surveying, planning, supervision or observation of construction or construction of an improvement to real property more than four years after the substantial completion of such improvement for any of the following:
(1) Any patent deficiency in the design, specifications, surveying, planning, supervision or observation of construction or construction of an improvement to, or survey of, real property;
Terms Used In California Code of Civil Procedure 337.1
- action: as used in this Title is to be construed, whenever it is necessary so to do, as including a special proceeding of a civil nature. See California Code of Civil Procedure 363
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
- Property: includes both personal and real property. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- State: includes the District of Columbia and the territories when applied to the different parts of the United States, and the words "United States" may include the district and territories. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
- Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
(2) Injury to property, real or personal, arising out of any such patent deficiency; or
(3) Injury to the person or for wrongful death arising out of any such patent deficiency.
(b) If, by reason of such patent deficiency, an injury to property or the person or an injury causing wrongful death occurs during the fourth year after such substantial completion, an action in tort to recover damages for such an injury or wrongful death may be brought within one year after the date on which such injury occurred, irrespective of the date of death, but in no event may such an action be brought more than five years after the substantial completion of construction of such improvement.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed as extending the period prescribed by the laws of this state for the bringing of any action.
(d) The limitation prescribed by this section shall not be asserted by way of defense by any person in actual possession or the control, as owner, tenant or otherwise, of such an improvement at the time any deficiency in such an improvement constitutes the proximate cause of the injury or death for which it is proposed to bring an action.
(e) As used in this section, “patent deficiency” means a deficiency which is apparent by reasonable inspection.
(f) Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall not apply to any owner-occupied single-unit residence.
(Added by Stats. 1967, Ch. 1326.)