BILL NUMBER: AB 1334 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 43
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE MAY 22, 1998
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR MAY 22, 1998
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY MAY 14, 1998
PASSED THE SENATE MAY 11, 1998
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 5, 1998
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 27, 1998
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 21, 1998
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 2, 1997
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 2, 1997
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 27, 1997
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 19, 1997
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Knox and Villaraigosa
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Leonard)
(Principal coauthors: Senators Burton, Hayden, Johnson, and
Schiff)
FEBRUARY 28, 1997
An act to add Section 354.5 to the Code of Civil Procedure,
relating to insurance for Holocaust victims, and declaring the
urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1334, Knox. Insurance: Holocaust victims.
Existing law regulates the enforcement of insurance contracts
issued by insurers doing business in this state, as specified.
This bill would provide that any Holocaust victim, or heir of a
Holocaust victim, who resides in this state and has a claim arising
out of an insurance policy or policies purchased in Europe between
1920 and 1945 from a specified insurer may bring a legal action to
recover on that claim in any superior court of the state, which shall
be vested with jurisdiction over that action until its completion or
resolution; and any action brought by a Holocaust victim or the heir
or beneficiary of a Holocaust victim, whether resident or
nonresident of this state, seeking proceeds of the insurance policy
or policies issued or in effect between 1920 and 1945 shall not be
dismissed for failure to comply with the applicable statute of
limitation provided the action is commenced on or before December 31,
2010. The bill would also state the intent of the Legislature in
this regard.
The bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an
urgency statute.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature recognizes that thousands of
Holocaust survivors and the heirs of Holocaust victims are residents
or citizens of the State of California. The Legislature further
recognizes and finds that these people have, too often, been deprived
of their contractual entitlement to benefits under insurance
policies issued by insurance companies operating in Europe prior to
and during World War II. California has an overwhelming public
policy interest in assuring that its residents and citizens who are
claiming entitlement to proceeds under policies issued to Holocaust
victims are treated reasonably and fairly and that those contractual
obligations are honored.
(b) It is the specific intent of the Legislature to assure that
Holocaust victims be permitted to have an expeditious, inexpensive,
and fair forum in which to resolve their claims for benefits under
these policies by allowing actions to be brought in California courts
and subject to California law, irrespective of any contrary forum
selection provision contained in the policies themselves. It is the
finding of the Legislature that enforcement of forum selection
provisions in those policies would work an undue, unreasonable, and
unjust hardship on Holocaust victims who are residents of California
and that those provisions are unenforceable with respect to the
policies as to which this act applies.
(c) To the extent that the statute of limitations regarding
contractual or tort claims arising from the denial of benefits under
the policies is extended by this act, that extension of the
limitations period is intended to be applied retroactively,
irrespective of whether the claims were otherwise barred by any
applicable statute of limitations under any other provision of law
prior to the enactment of this act.
SEC. 2. Section 354.5 is added to the Code of Civil Procedure, to
read:
354.5. (a) The following definitions govern the construction of
this section:
(1) "Holocaust victim" means any person who was persecuted during
the period of 1930 to 1945, inclusive, by Nazi Germany or its allies.
(2) "Related company" means any parent, subsidiary, reinsurer,
successor in interest, managing general agent, or affiliate company
of the insurer.
(3) "Insurer" means an insurance provider doing business in the
state, or whose contacts in the state satisfy the constitutional
requirements for jurisdiction, that sold life, annuities, dowry,
educational, or casualty insurance covering persons or property to
persons in Europe at any time between 1920 and 1945, directly or
through a related company.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any Holocaust
victim, or heir or beneficiary of a Holocaust victim, who resides in
this state and has a claim arising out of an insurance policy or
policies purchased in Europe between 1920 and 1945 from an insurer
described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of this section, may
bring a legal action to recover on that claim in any superior court
of the state for the county in which the plaintiff or one of the
plaintiffs resides, which court shall be vested with jurisdiction
over that action until its completion or resolution.
(c) Any action brought by a Holocaust victim or the heir or
beneficiary of a Holocaust victim, whether a resident or nonresident
of this state, seeking proceeds of the insurance policies issued or
in effect between 1920 and 1945 shall not be dismissed for failure to
comply with the applicable statute of limitation, provided the
action is commenced on or before December 31, 2010.
SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to provide just compensation to aging Holocaust victims,
it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.