(a) In a civil action by a public agency seeking damages caused by a fire, pecuniary damages must be quantifiable and not unreasonable in relation to the prefire fair market value of the property, taking into consideration the ecological and environmental value of the property to the public. The only recoverable pecuniary damages shall be:

(1) Either the restoration and rehabilitation costs associated with bringing the damaged property back to its preinjured state or replacement or acquisition costs of equivalent value, or diminution in value of property as a result of the fire, including lost timber value, or some combination thereof.

Terms Used In California Health and Safety Code 13009.2

  • County: includes city and county. See California Health and Safety Code 14
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Health and Safety Code 23

(2) Short-term costs related to immediate damages suffered as a result of the fire, such as burned area emergency response costs, costs associated with discrete restoration activities related to repair and replacement of real property improvements, and remediation and eradication costs relative to invasive species and any other nonnative infestation caused by or exacerbated by sudden burn area conditions.

(b) In addition to the damages authorized by subdivision (a), a public agency may also recover ecological and environmental damages caused by the fire, if those damages are quantifiable, and are not redressed by the damages set forth in subdivision (a), taking into consideration the ecological and environmental value of the property to the public. Ecological and environmental damages may include:

(1) Lost recreational value.

(2) Lost interim use.

(3) Lost historical and archeological value.

(4) Damage to wildlife, wildlife habitat, water or soil quality, or plants.

(5) Damage to any rare natural features of the property.

(6) Lost aesthetic value.

(c) In assessing the reasonableness of damages under subdivision (b), the prefire fair market value of the property is relevant and one factor to be considered, in addition to the other factors listed in subdivision (b).

(d) A public agency plaintiff who claims environmental damages of any kind under subdivision (a) or (b) shall not seek to enhance any pecuniary or environmental damages recovered under this section. This section is not intended to alter the law regarding whether § 3346 of the Civil Code or § 733 of the Code of Civil Procedure can be used to enhance fire damages, but this section does confirm that if a public agency claims environmental damages under subdivision (a) or (b), it shall not seek to enhance any damages recovered under this section for any reason, and shall not use § 3346 of the Civil Code or § 733 of the Code of Civil Procedure to do so, regardless of whether those sections might otherwise apply. This section is not intended to limit or change the ability of a public agency to recover costs arising from a fire as provided in Sections 13009 and 13009.1.

(e) For purposes of this section, the term “public agency” means the United States of America or any political subdivision thereof, the State of California, any city, county, district, public agency, or any other public subdivision of the state.

(f) This section shall apply only to a civil action filed on or after the effective date of the act adding this section.

(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 289, Sec. 1. (AB 1492) Effective September 11, 2012.)

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