Civil actions: decedent’s cause of action.

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation had incorrect deadlines and requirements that were corrected based on the official source material.

Extending Time for Decedent's Pain and Suffering Claims

This law extends the time period during which a personal representative or successor in interest can file a lawsuit to recover damages for a decedent’s pain, suffering, or disfigurement until January 1, 2027.

What This Bill Does

• Extends until January 1, 2027, the deadline for filing lawsuits to recover damages for a deceased person's pain, suffering, or disfigurement.
• Requires plaintiffs who win such cases by July 31, 2026, to report information about their wins to the Judicial Council.
• Allows any party in an action to submit required information to the Judicial Council.
• Changes the deadline for the Judicial Council to send a report on these lawsuits to the Legislature until January 1, 2027.

Who It Names or Affects

• Personal representatives and successors in interest of deceased individuals who can file lawsuits for pain, suffering, or disfigurement.
• Plaintiffs who win such cases and must report information about their wins to the Judicial Council.
• The Judicial Council which collects and reports data on these lawsuits.

Terms To Know

Decedent

A person who has died.

Personal Representative

Someone appointed to manage the affairs of a deceased person's estate.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what happens after January 1, 2027.
• It is unclear how this extension will affect existing cases or future lawsuits beyond the specified deadlines.

Official Summary Text

SB 29, as amended, Laird.
Civil actions: decedent’s cause of action.
Existing law provides that a cause of action that survives the death of the person entitled to commence an action or proceeding passes to the decedent’s successor in interest and an action may be commenced by the decedent’s personal representative or, if none, by the decedent’s successor in interest. Existing law provides that the damages recoverable in that action or proceeding include the loss or damage that the decedent sustained or incurred before death, including any penalties or punitive or exemplary damages that the decedent would have been entitled to recover had the decedent lived. Existing law also permits damages for a decedent’s pain, suffering, or disfigurement to be recovered in an action brought by the decedent’s personal representative or successor in interest if the action or proceeding was granted a specified preference before January 1, 2022, or was filed on or after
January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2026. Existing law requires a plaintiff who recovers damages for pain, suffering, or disfigurement between specified dates to submit to the Judicial Council a copy of the judgment, consent judgment, or court-approved settlement agreement entitling the plaintiff to the damages and a cover sheet containing specified information. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to transmit to the Legislature a report detailing this information, as specified.
This bill would extend the time frame for a decedent’s personal representative or successor in interest to file an action to recover damages for a decedent’s pain, suffering, or disfigurement to January 1,
2030.
2027.
The bill would extend the requirement that a plaintiff who recovers such
damages report specified information about the action to the Judicial Council to include damages recovered through
January 1, 2029.
July 31, 2026.
The bill would authorize any party to an action to submit the required information to the Judicial Council. The bill would extend to January 1,
2029,
2027,
the deadline for the Judicial Council to submit a report to the Legislature and would change the period covered by the report to January 1, 2025, through July 31,
2029.
2026.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF