## Facts

- Paula Phillips was admitted to Desert Hospital District, a public hospital district, in September 1983.
- She underwent a bilateral mastectomy and reconstructive surgery; plaintiffs alleged the surgery was medically unnecessary, negligently performed, and led to serious complications.
- Plaintiffs alleged she was discharged in October 1983 without being informed of the nature or extent of her condition and later required additional treatment.
- In April 1984, plaintiffs’ attorney mailed the hospital a notice of intent to sue within 90 days under Code of Civil Procedure § 364(a) for professional negligence.
- Counsel did not present a formal claim under the Government Claims Act because he did not realize the hospital was a public entity subject to claim-presentation requirements.
- After no response from the hospital, plaintiffs filed a malpractice action against the hospital and a treating physician.

## Issues

1. Whether a § 364(a) notice of intent to sue that alerts a public entity to a monetary claim and impending litigation, but does not substantially comply with Government Claims Act claim-presentation requirements, must be treated as a defective “claim as presented” that triggers Government Code §§ 910.8, 911, and 911.3.
2. Whether a public entity’s failure to provide statutory notice of claim defects waives defenses based on the claim’s insufficiency or untimeliness.

## Decision

- The California Supreme Court reversed the judgment of dismissal entered after the demurrer was sustained.
- The court held that the § 364(a) letter had to be treated as a defective claim that triggered the Government Claims Act’s notice-of-defect and defense-waiver provisions.
- Because the hospital did not send the statutorily required notice of insufficiency, it waived defenses based on alleged defects in content or timeliness.
- The case was remanded for further proceedings.

## Legal Principles

- A writing that alerts a public entity to a claim for monetary damages and impending litigation can constitute a “claim as presented” for purposes of Government Code §§ 910.8, 911, and 911.3, even if it does not substantially comply with the Act’s claim-presentation requirements.
- Government Code § 910.8 requires a public entity to give written notice when a claim as presented is defective or insufficient.
- Government Code §§ 911 and 911.3 provide that if the entity fails to give the required notice of insufficiency, it waives defenses based on the claim’s insufficiency or untimeliness.
- The statutory notice-of-defect scheme is designed to give claimants a fair opportunity to cure defects before correction becomes time-barred.

## Conclusion

A public entity receiving a § 364 malpractice notice that communicates a demand for money damages and a forthcoming lawsuit must treat it as a defective claim and provide statutory notice of deficiencies; otherwise, it waives defenses based on the notice’s failure to satisfy the Government Claims Act’s content or timing requirements.


Phillips v. Desert Hosp. Dist., 49 Cal. 3d 699 (Cal. 1989)