(a) An answer to the complaint must be served within 90 days after the first publication of the notice, or such further time not exceeding 30 days, as the court for good cause may grant.
§ 751.56.Answer to Complaint
Title 10. Actions In Particular Cases · Chapter 3.6. Cullen Earthquake Act · Enacted 1972 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 751.56 gives a party ninety days after first publication, or thirty more for good cause, to answer, requires the answer to specify how the claimed interest differs from or exceeds what the complaint describes and to be confined to post-disaster events, while preserving unaffected any pre-disaster claims for later assertion.
Full Text of § 751.56
(b) An answer must:
(1) Specifically set out the particulars in which the claimant's estate, right, title, or interest in or to, or lien upon all or any part of the property is different from, or greater than, the interest of the claimant as it is described in the complaint.
(2) Be confined to rights based on events occurring at the time of, or since the time of the disaster.
(c) To whatever extent, if at all, the answering party has rights against anyone whatsoever, based upon facts or events which occurred before the disaster, the claims shall remain unaffected by the action brought under this chapter and shall be assertable subsequent to the conclusion of the action at any time and in any manner permitted by law, notwithstanding the judgment granted in this action, recognizing however the finality of this judgment as to the consequences, with respect to land boundaries as applicable to land in the disaster area.
Plain-English Summary
The answer deadline here runs longer than Chapter 3.5's three months, reflecting the scale of a typical earthquake-boundary case: ninety days after the first publication of notice, with up to thirty more days available for good cause. Once filed, the answer has two specific jobs. It must set out the particulars in which the claimant's estate, right, title, or interest is different from, or greater than, what the complaint already describes. And it has to confine itself to rights based on events occurring at or since the time of the disaster.
That second limitation is deliberate. Subdivision (c) makes clear that any rights the answering party has against anyone else, based on facts or events from before the disaster, aren't affected by this action at all — they remain assertable later, in any manner the law permits, notwithstanding the judgment entered here. What this judgment finally decides is the boundary question created by the disaster itself; it doesn't resolve pre-disaster disputes that have nothing to do with where the ground ended up.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a party have to answer in a Cullen Earthquake Act action?
Ninety days after the first publication of the notice, with up to thirty additional days available for good cause.
What must the answer address?
The particulars in which the claimant's interest differs from, or is greater than, what the complaint describes, confined to rights based on events at or after the time of the disaster.
Does this judgment resolve disputes that predate the disaster?
No. Section 751.56(c) preserves any pre-disaster rights or claims, letting them be asserted later, while the judgment remains final only as to the disaster's consequences for land boundaries.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1972, Ch. 936.
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: answer deadline cullen earthquake act california