California Civil Code. California
(Enacted 1872.)
1421. The Recorder of each county must keep a book, in which he must record the notices provided for in this Title.
(Enacted 1872.)
1422. If the place of intended diversion or any part of the route of intended conveyance of water so claimed, be within, and a part of, any national park, forest reservation, or other public reservation, and be so shown in the notice of appropriation of said water, then the claimant shall have sixty days, after the grant of authority to occupy and use such park or reservation for such intended purpose, within which to commence the excavation or construction of said works; provided that within sixty days after the posting of said notice of appropriation, as provided in section 1415 of the Civil Code, the claimant shall in good faith commence (and thereafter diligently and continuously, except when temporarily interrupted by snow or rain, prosecute to completion) such surveys and other work as under the regulations governing such park or reservations, may be required as preliminary to, or for use with, an application for such authority; and provided also that the claimant shall in good faith on completion of said survey and preliminary work, apply to the officer, board, or body, having charge of such park or reservation, for such authority, and shall thereafter, prosecute said application with reasonable diligence.
(Added by Stats. 1903, Ch. 272.)
DIVISION 3. OBLIGATIONS [1427 — 3272.9]
(Heading of Division 3 amended by Stats. 1988, Ch. 160, Sec. 14.)
PART 1. OBLIGATIONS IN GENERAL [1427 — 1543]
(Part 1 enacted 1872.)
TITLE 1. DEFINITION OF OBLIGATIONS [1427 — [1428.]]
(Title 1 enacted 1872.)
1427. An obligation is a legal duty, by which a person is bound to do or not to do a certain thing.
(Enacted 1872.)
[1428.] Section Fourteen Hundred and Twenty-eight. An obligation arises either from:
One — The contract of the parties; or,
Two — The operation of law. An obligation arising from operation of law may be enforced in the manner provided by law, or by civil action or proceeding.
(Amended by Code Amendments 1873-74, Ch. 612.)
TITLE 2. INTERPRETATION OF OBLIGATIONS [1429 — 1451]
(Title 2 enacted 1872.)
CHAPTER 1. General Rules of Interpretation [1429–1429.]
(Chapter 1 enacted 1872.)
1429. The rules which govern the interpretation of contracts are prescribed by Part II of this Division. Other obligations are interpreted by the same rules by which statutes of a similar nature are interpreted.
(Enacted 1872.)
CHAPTER 2. Joint or Several Obligations [1430 — 1432]
(Chapter 2 enacted 1872.)
1430. An obligation imposed upon several persons, or a right created in favor of several persons, may be:
1. Joint;
2. Several; or,
3. Joint and several.
(Enacted 1872.)
1431. Joint Liability
An obligation imposed upon several persons, or a right created in favor of several persons, is presumed to be joint, and not several, except as provided in Section 1431.2, and except in the special cases mentioned in the title on the interpretation of contracts. This presumption, in the case of a right, can be overcome only by express words to the contrary.
(Amended June 3, 1986, by initiative Proposition 51, Sec. 2. Note: Prop. 51 (the Fair Responsibility Act of 1986) includes Sections 1431.1 to 1431.5 and part of this section.)
1431.1. Findings and Declaration of Purpose
The People of the State of California find and declare as follows:
a) The legal doctrine of joint and several liability, also known as “the deep pocket rule”, has resulted in a system of inequity and injustice that has threatened financial bankruptcy of local governments, other public agencies, private individuals and businesses and has resulted in higher prices for goods and services to the public and in higher taxes to the taxpayers.
b) Some governmental and private defendants are perceived to have substantial financial resources or insurance coverage and have thus been included in lawsuits even though there was little or no basis for finding them at fault. Under joint and several liability, if they are found to share even a fraction of the fault, they often are held financially liable for all the damage. The People — taxpayers and consumers alike — ultimately pay for these lawsuits in the form of higher taxes, higher prices and higher insurance premiums.
c) Local governments have been forced to curtail some essential police, fire and other protections because of the soaring costs of lawsuits and insurance premiums.
Therefore, the People of the State of California declare that to remedy these inequities, defendants in tort actions shall be held financially liable in closer proportion to their degree of fault. To treat them differently is unfair and inequitable.
The People of the State of California further declare that reforms in the liability laws in tort actions are necessary and proper to avoid catastrophic economic consequences for state and local governmental bodies as well as private individuals and businesses.
(Added June 3, 1986, by initiative Proposition 51, Sec. 3. Note: Prop. 51 (the Fair Responsibility Act of 1986) includes Sections 1431.1 to 1431.5 and part of Section 1431.)
1431.2. Several Liability for Non-economic Damages
(a) In any action for personal injury, property damage, or wrongful death, based upon principles of comparative fault, the liability of each defendant for non-economic damages shall be several only and shall not be joint. Each defendant shall be liable only for the amount of non-economic damages allocated to that defendant in direct proportion to that defendant’s percentage of fault, and a separate judgment shall be rendered against that defendant for that amount.
(b) (1) For purposes of this section, the term “economic damages” means objectively verifiable monetary losses including medical expenses, loss of earnings, burial costs, loss of use of property, costs of repair or replacement, costs of obtaining substitute domestic services, loss of employment and loss of business or employment opportunities.
(2) For the purposes of this section, the term “non-economic damages” means subjective, non-monetary losses including, but not limited to, pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental suffering, emotional distress, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium, injury to reputation and humiliation.
(Added June 3, 1986, by initiative Proposition 51, Sec. 4. Note: Prop. 51 (the Fair Responsibility Act of 1986) includes Sections 1431.1 to 1431.5 and part of Section 1431.)
1431.3. Nothing contained in this measure is intended, in any way, to alter the law of immunity.
(Added June 3, 1986, by initiative Proposition 51, Sec. 5. Note: In the text, "this measure" refers to Prop. 51 (the Fair Responsibility Act of 1986), which includes Sections 1431.1 to 1431.5 and part of Section 1431.)
1431.4. Amendment or Repeal of Measure.
This measure may be amended or repealed by either of the procedures set forth in this section. If any portion of subsection (a) is declared invalid, then subsection (b) shall be the exclusive means of amending or repealing this measure.
(a) This measure may be amended to further its purposes by statute, passed in each house by rollcall vote entered in the journal, two-thirds of the