Statute of Limitations for Common Law Fraud / Deceit in California

How the limitation period applies

The controlling primary authority for US-CA common law fraud deceit SOL (Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 338(d)) is Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 338(d).

Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 338(d). Within three years: (a) An action upon a liability created by statute, other than a penalty or forfeiture. (b) An action for trespass upon or injury to real property. (c) (1) An action for taking, detaining, or injuring goods or chattels, including an action for the specific recovery of personal property. (2) The cause of action in the case of theft, as described in Section 484 of the Penal Code, of an article of historical, interpretive, scientific, or artistic significance is not deemed to have accrued until the discovery of the whereabouts of the article by the aggrieved party, the aggrieved party’s agent, or the law enforcement agency that originally investigated the theft. (3) (A) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), an action for the specific recovery of a work of fine art brought against a museum, gallery, auctioneer, or dealer, in the case of an unlawful taking or theft, as described in Section 484 of the Penal Code, of a work of fine art, including a taking or theft by means of fraud or duress, shall be commenced within six years of the actual discovery by the claimant or the claimant’s agent, of both of the following: (i) The identity and the whereabouts of the work of fine art. In the case where there is a possibility of misidentification of the object of fine art in question, the identity can be satisfied by the identification of facts sufficient to determine that the work of fine art is likely to be the work of fine art that was unlawfully taken or stolen. (ii) Information or facts that are sufficient to indicate that the claimant has a claim for a possessory interest in the work of fine art that was unlawfully taken or stolen. (B) This paragraph shall apply to all pending and future actions commenced on or before December 31, 2017, including an action dismissed based on the expiration of statutes of limitations in effect prior to the date of enactment of this statute if the judgment in that action is not yet final or if the time for filing an appeal from a decision on that action has not expired, provided that the action concerns a work of fine art that was taken within 100 years prior to the date of enactment of this statute. (C) For purposes of this paragraph: (i) “Actual discovery,” notwithstanding Section 19 of the Civil Code, does not include constructive knowledge imputed by law. (ii) “Auctioneer” means an individual who is engaged in, or who by advertising or otherwise holds the individual out as being available to engage in, the calling for, the recognition of, and the acceptance of, offers for the purchase of goods at an auction as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1812.601 of the Civil Code. (iii) “Dealer” means a person who holds a valid seller’s permit and who is actively and principally engaged in, or conducting the business of, selling works of fine art. (iv) “Duress” means a threat of force, violence, danger, or retribution against an owner of the work of fine art in question, or the owner’s family member, sufficient to coerce a reasonable person of ordinary susceptibilities to perform an act that otherwise would not have been performed or to acquiesce to an act to which the person would otherwise not have acquiesced. (v) “Fine art” has the same meaning as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 982 of the Civil Code. (vi) “Museum or gallery” shall include any public or private organization or foundation operating as a museum or gallery. (4) Section 361 shall not apply to an action brought pursuant to paragraph (3). (5) A party in an action to which paragraph (3) applies may raise all equitable and legal affirmative defenses and doctrines, including, without limitation, laches and unclean hands. (6) Notwithstanding any other law or prior judicial decision, in any action brought by a California resident, or by an heir, trustee, assignee, or representative of the estate of a California resident, involving claims relating to title, ownership, or recovery of personal property as described in paragraph (2) or (3), or in the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016 (HEAR) (Pub. L. No. 114-308), including claims for money damages, California substantive law shall apply. This paragraph shall apply to all actions pending on the date this paragraph becomes operative or that are commenced thereafter, including any action in which the judgment is not yet final or the time for filing any appeal, including a petition for a writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, has not expired, or, if filed, has not been decided. (d) An action for relief on the ground of fraud or mistake. The cause of action in that case is not deemed to have accrued until the discovery, by the aggrieved party, of the facts constituting the fraud or mistake.

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Sources

• Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 338(d) — Code of Civil Procedure Section 338

All sources are official primary law published by leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.

Corroboration method: government_primary_source_direct_fetch.