BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 2765|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 2765
          Author:   Assembly Judiciary Committee
          Amended:  6/29/10 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  :  4-0, 6/22/10
          AYES:  Corbett, Harman, Hancock, Leno
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Walters

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  74-0, 5/6/10 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Civil actions:  statutes of limitation:  theft

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill extends the statute of limitations  
          (SOL) from three to six years for actions against a museum,  
          gallery, auctioneer, or dealer for specific recovery of an  
          article of historical, interpretive, scientific, cultural,  
          or artistic significance.  This bill provides that the  
          statute of limitations for these types of actions begins to  
          accrue at the time of the actual discovery of the  
          whereabouts of the article and the facts constituting the  
          cause of action.  This bill applies these provisions to  
          actions based on property taken by theft prior to 1982,  
          regardless of whether or not the action would otherwise  
          have been barred by an applicable statute of limitation  
          under any other provision of law in effect prior to 1982.   
          This bill authorizes the revival of actions, and would  
          apply to pending actions including an appeal from a prior  
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          dismissed action, against a museum, gallery, auctioneer, or  
          dealer for specific recovery of an article of historical,  
          interpretive, scientific, cultural, or artistic  
          significance that would have satisfied a six-year statute  
          of limitations based on the actual discovery of the  
          whereabouts of the article and the facts constituting the  
          cause of action.  The revival of or application to such  
          actions must have been dismissed in whole or in part upon  
          the expiration of the statute of limitations existing at  
          the time of the dismissal.   

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law provides a statute of limitations  
          of three years for actions to recover stolen personal  
          property.  (Code Civ. Proc. Sec. 338(c).)

          Existing law provides that the statute of limitations  
          pertaining to the recovery of stolen articles of  
          historical, interpretive, scientific, or artistic  
          significance begins to accrue upon the plaintiff's  
          discovery of the whereabouts of the stolen article.  (Code  
          Civ. Proc. Sec. 338(c).)

          This bill would extend  the statute of limitations from  
          three years to six years for actions against a museum,  
          gallery, auctioneer, or dealer for specific recovery of an  
          article of historical, interpretive, scientific, cultural,  
          or artistic significance.  

          This bill would provide that the statute of limitations for  
          actions against a museum, gallery, auctioneer, or dealer  
          for specific recovery of an article of historical,  
          interpretive, scientific, cultural, or artistic  
          significance begins to accrue at the time of the actual  
          discovery of the whereabouts of the article and the facts  
          constituting the cause of action.  

          This bill makes corresponding changes in the definition of  
          "dealer."

          This bill would apply a six-year statute of limitations and  
          actual discovery rule to actions for property taken by  
          theft prior to 1982 against a museum, gallery, auctioneer,  
          or dealer for specific recovery of an article of  
          historical, interpretive, scientific, cultural, or artistic  

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          significance, regardless of whether or not the action would  
          otherwise have been barred by an applicable statute of  
          limitation under any other provision of law in effect prior  
          to 1982.  

          This bill would authorize the revival of actions, and would  
          apply to pending actions including an appeal from a prior  
          dismissed action, against a museum, gallery, auctioneer, or  
          dealer for specific recovery of an article of historical,  
          interpretive, scientific, cultural, or artistic  
          significance that would have satisfied a six-year statute  
          of limitations based on the actual discovery of the  
          whereabouts of the article and the facts constituting the  
          cause of action.  The revival of or application to such  
          actions must have been dismissed in whole or in part upon  
          the expiration of the statute of limitations existing at  
          the time of the dismissal.   The bill specifies that this  
          action must be commenced within five years of the effective  
          date adding this provision.

          According to the author's office:

               This bill addresses a problem faced by persons who are  
               attempting to recover art and other valuable objects  
               that may have been stolen several years ago and are  
               only more recently on display at a museum or gallery.   
               It is in the very nature of stolen art that it  
               circulates underground for several years before it  
               appears in museums and galleries, and by that time the  
               SOL has passed.  Case law in California and elsewhere  
               has recognized that, given the nature of stolen art,  
               the proper trigger for the SOL is actual discovery.   
               Recent cases have divided on the question of whether  
               the "discovery" rule that was adopted by the  
               Legislature in 1982 applies to works stolen before  
               1983 (when the statute became effective) and whether  
               the discovery intended was "actual" or "constructive."  
                This amendment would clarify these questions for  
               purposes of actions brought to recover art on display  
               in a museum or gallery.  In addition to these state  
               appellate cases, a recent decision striking down a  
               statute targeted solely at the Nazi-looted art (on  
               foreign policy preemption grounds) also noted the  
               confusion of the two appellate court rulings on these  

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               questions.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No    
          Local:  No

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill  
            Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Blumenfield,  
            Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles  
            Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De  
            Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,  
            Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani,  
            Garrick, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,  
            Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue,  
            Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,  
            Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,  
            Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,  
            Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,  
            Tran, Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Bass, Block, De La Torre, Gilmore,  
            Mendoza


          RJG:nl  6/30/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                       SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  NONE RECEIVED

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