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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