The complaint shall substantially include:
§ 751.53.Requirements of Complaint
Title 10. Actions In Particular Cases · Chapter 3.6. Cullen Earthquake Act · Last amended 1984 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 751.53 requires the complaint to state the triggering facts, describe the exterior boundaries of the affected area, specify the plaintiffs' known interests and any known adverse interests in each part of it, specify any street areas offered for vacation, and propose a replatting of the area reflecting the disaster-caused boundaries.
Full Text of § 751.53
(a) A statement of the facts which make the provisions of this chapter applicable.
(b) A description of the exterior boundaries of the real property area sought to be affected by the action.
(c) A specification of the estate, title, interest or claim owned, and in the actual possession of the plaintiff or plaintiffs in described parts of the entire real property sought to be affected by the action.
(d) A specification of the estate, title, interest, or claim, so far as they are known to the plaintiffs or either of them, and so far as they are capable of being discovered by reasonably diligent search by the plaintiff or plaintiffs, in each separate part of the entire real property sought to be affected by the action.
(e) A specification of the street areas sought to be vacated or offered by the plaintiff, or plaintiffs, to be vacated in whole or in part for judicial equitable allocation to landowners for the mitigation of the losses inflicted upon the landowners by the particular disaster or disasters to which this chapter is applicable.
(f) A proposed replatting of the entire real property sought to be affected by the action, embodying the land boundaries as fixed by the disaster, except as these boundaries have been equitably and judicially readjusted, or as liberalized by judicially directed use of the vacated lands.
Plain-English Summary
The complaint in a Cullen Earthquake Act action does more than allege a claim to particular land; it has to lay out a plan for reestablishing an entire disturbed area. It must state the facts triggering this chapter's application under § 751.50, describe the exterior boundaries of the area the action will affect, and specify the plaintiffs' own estate, title, interest, or claim in described parts of that area.
It also has to specify, so far as known or reasonably discoverable through diligent search, the estates, titles, interests, or claims of others in each separate part of the property. And because ground movement can shift streets along with private parcels, the complaint has to specify any street areas the plaintiff offers to vacate, in whole or part, to help mitigate the losses the disaster caused landowners.
Finally, the complaint has to include a proposed replatting of the entire area — a map embodying the boundaries as the disaster fixed them, adjusted only where equity and judicial readjustment require, or as liberalized by the judicially directed use of any vacated land. That proposed replatting becomes the working draft for the official map the judgment ultimately approves under § 751.60.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must the complaint say about the disaster itself?
It must state the facts that make this chapter's provisions applicable, referring back to the disturbance described in § 751.50.
Does the complaint have to describe every affected owner's interest?
It must specify the plaintiffs' own interests in described parts of the property, and, so far as known or discoverable by reasonably diligent search, the interests of other owners in each separate part.
What is the proposed replatting the complaint must include?
A proposed map of the entire affected area embodying the boundaries as fixed by the disaster, except as equitably readjusted or liberalized by judicially directed use of vacated land — the draft that becomes the official map approved by the judgment under § 751.60.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1984, Ch. 193, Sec. 10.
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: complaint requirements cullen earthquake act california