If a person entitled to bring an action or other proceeding, which action or other proceeding has not been filed or otherwise instituted, is represented by an attorney over whose practice a court of this state has assumed jurisdiction pursuant to Section 6180 or Section 6190 of the Business and Professions Code, and the application for the court to assume jurisdiction is filed prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitation or claim statute, the person shall have six months from the date of entry of the order assuming jurisdiction within which to file or otherwise institute the matter, if the applicable statute of limitation otherwise would have expired.
§ 353.1.Person Entitled to Bring Action Represented By Attorney Whose Practice Court Has Assumed Jurisdiction
Title 2. Of the Time of Commencing Civil Actions · Chapter 4. General Provisions as to the Time of Commencing Actions · Enacted 1983 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 353.1 gives a client six months after a court assumes jurisdiction over a disabled or defaulting attorney's practice to file a claim that would otherwise have expired, provided the request for the court to assume jurisdiction was filed before the deadline ran.
Full Text of § 353.1
Plain-English Summary
Section 353.1 protects clients whose attorney becomes unable to handle their practice — through death, disability, or misconduct — in a way that could cause a client's own deadline to slip by unnoticed. When a court assumes jurisdiction over that attorney's practice under the State Bar provisions referenced in the statute, a client with an unfiled claim gets six months from the date of that court order to file or otherwise institute the matter.
The extension only applies if the application asking the court to assume jurisdiction over the attorney's practice was itself filed before the client's own statute of limitations or claim deadline expired. The rule bridges the gap between a deadline about to run and the disruption caused by the attorney's practice being taken over.
This is a narrow, procedural safety valve — it does not extend deadlines generally, only for the client of the affected attorney, and only when the underlying application for court jurisdiction was timely.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to my case deadline if my attorney's practice is taken over by the court?
If the application for the court to assume jurisdiction over the attorney's practice was filed before your deadline expired, § 353.1 gives you six months from the date of that court order to file your matter.
Does § 353.1 apply if my filing deadline had already passed before the court stepped in?
The extension applies only where the application for the court to assume jurisdiction was filed prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or claim statute.
Does this section apply to any unfiled legal matter, not just lawsuits?
Section 353.1 refers to an action or other proceeding that has not been filed or otherwise instituted, so it is not limited to civil actions alone.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1983, Ch. 254, Sec. 3.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: attorney disability client deadline extension californiacourt assumes jurisdiction over attorney practice