4DCA Division 3 Oral Argument - 2026/05/18 - May 18, 2026
argument4DCA Division 3 Oral Argument - 2026/05/18
California Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three
3h 13m
8 chapters
transcribed 1 month ago
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Why does the appellant argue that the school district’s silence constitutes a statutory waiver under the Government Claims Act?
Thank you very much.
you
Thank you.
you
Good
morning and welcome to the Cruz Reynoso courthouse. This panel will only hear one matter and that's Tran versus Garden Grove Unified School District. Just as goodings to my right, just as scholars to my left. So come forward, please.
I begin.
Yes, please.
Yes, thank you, Your
Honour. After stating your appearance, would you please tell me how much of your time you would like to reserve, if any, for rebuttal?
Yes. Good morning, Your Honors. My name is Julie Nong, and I represent the appellants, Edwin Tran and his minor daughter, Jane Doe. I would like to request approximately five minutes for the rebuttal. And thank you. May I please the court? This case is not about whether Mr. Tran filled out the right form. It is about whether a school district can hand a pro se parent the wrong form, receive written allegations of negligence and emotional distress, read a threat of civil litigation, and then say nothing, and later use that silence as a sword to thwart a child's case on the court's house steps. Under Phillips and Sims, that silence is a waiver. And under Federickson, that conduct is an estoppel. And we ask this court to reverse.
And I would like to go through some of the highlights of our arguments. First is the Government Claim Act argument. The claim is Here, the claim submitted by Mr. Tran is the claim as presented. The question is not whether Mr. Tran filed a perfect claim. The question is whether he filed a claim as presented. which triggered the district mandatory duty under government code section 910.8 to notify him of defects. And they did not do so. Under section 911, that silence is a waiver. And As shown, Phillips v. Desert Hospital District ruled a notice of intention to commence action was a claim as presented, and it did not need to satisfy every element of Section 910. And in Sims v. Bear Valley, this court stated that a letter threatening to file a lawsuit for restitution with no dollar amount was a claim as presented, and the entity's failure to issue a notice of insufficiency waived the defect.
Here, Mr. Tran did more than the plaintiff in Sims. He used language like pain and suffering, substantial emotional distress, negligence, and explicitly stated he would take legal actions and ask the district to keep records for civil litigation. And that is at 1AA232233. And Your Honor, again, Section 910 is a requirement for a fully compliant claim, but not a claim, again, for this particular scenario we have, it's not for a claim as presented. And the Phillips and Simp courts were very clear that a document that provides notice of the injury, the legal theory, and the intent to sue is a claim as presented regardless of technical deficiencies. And the entire purpose of section... A 910.8, government code 910.8 notice mechanism is to cure exactly those deficiencies and the district, even though litigated, I'm sorry, investigated, never once told Mr. Tran to or sent him a notice of deficiency such that his claim as presented can be cured.
and anticipating that the district cited, in opposition, the district cited ASB Palmdale as their primary authority. Well, unlike ASB Palmdale, the plaintiff there used a school complaint form and never mentioned anything about monetary damages or that she would threaten litigation. Here, in ASV's calm jail, the request or the complaint form requested that of the teacher discipline investigation only. In Tran v. GGUSD, Mr. Tran states his pain and suffering, emotional distress, and civil litigation. In ASV Palmdale, litigation was never threatened, but in this case, litigation was threatened explicitly at least twice and it is in writing. The injury type, I think we have to discuss the injury type in ASV Palmdale.
The physical, it did, the mother did ask, did mention that the physical injury is the arm twist, but normally claimed. In TRANVGGUSD, Even though Mr. Tran did not explicitly state the amount, the monetary damages, he did explicitly state emotional distress. And, Your Honors, inherently, the compensation for emotional distress is monetary damages.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why does the appellant argue that the school district’s silence constitutes a statutory waiver under the Government Claims Act?
8:36–36:20
2
How does the appellant use the Phillips and Sims cases to support the claim‑as‑presented doctrine?
36:20–1:07:08
3
What is the significance of the alleged “wrong form” given to Mr. Tran and how does it affect the district’s defense?
1:07:08–1:25:32
4
Why does the respondent contend that the district never issued a proper notice of insufficiency under Government Code §911?
1:25:32–1:40:21
5
How does the argument about estoppel relate to the district’s alleged failure to provide a proper claim form?
1:40:21–1:52:53
6
What procedural due‑process issues does the appellant raise regarding the court’s handling of witnesses and emergency relief?
1:52:53–2:13:55
7
Why does the appellant claim that the restitution claim is a standalone cause of action, not merely a remedy?
2:13:55–2:49:07
8
How does the arbitration‑fee breach analysis under Civil Code §3275 and CCP §473 influence the final decision?
2:49:07–3:12:51
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