Placer County rejects certain tort claims; County Counsel explains claim‑filing process after public comment
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Summary
The Board approved staff's recommendation to reject claims as insufficient under the Government Tort Act; County Counsel explained that rejection reflects insufficiency and does not prevent later lawsuit, while a public commenter described the claim process as onerous and likened it to 'blackmail.'
At the Nov. 17 special meeting the Placer County Board of Supervisors voted to adopt staff’s recommendation to reject certain tort claims after County Counsel presented a corrected memo and legal analysis.
County Counsel Karen explained the Government Tort Act (referred to in the meeting record as the "government tort, tort act"): an individual who may later sue the county must first file a claim, which County Counsel's office and Risk Management assess for sufficiency. When staff determines a claim is insufficient they bring it to the board to formally reject the claim; Karen emphasized that rejection does not preclude a potential future lawsuit but indicates the claim is not sufficient to require payment or further administrative action at that time.
During public comment a resident who said she had filed a claim described her experience as harrowing and characterized the process as “blackmail,” asking how much visibility the board has into complaints and what the county does to respond to citizen‑raised issues. The resident also said cancelled advisory meetings and visible trash in gutters raised local quality‑of‑life concerns.
After the public comment period, supervisors moved and seconded the staff recommendation to reject the claims; the board voted in favor.
County Counsel and Risk Management will continue handling the administrative review of claims; the record shows no change in the legal standard or statutory process was adopted at the meeting.