The action provided for in this chapter may be maintained by the board of supervisors of any county or city and county or the legislative body of any municipal corporation, respectively, in the name of such county, city and county or municipal corporation against any person who usurps, intrudes into or unlawfully holds or exercises any franchise, or portion thereof, within the respective territorial limits of such county, city and county or municipal corporation and which is of a kind that is within the jurisdiction of such board or body to grant or withhold.
§ 811.Action Maintained By Board of Supervisors Or Governing Body of Municipal Corporation
Title 10. Actions In Particular Cases · Chapter 5. Actions for the Usurpation of an Office or Franchise · Enacted 1937 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 811 lets a county's board of supervisors or a municipal corporation's governing body bring its own action against anyone who usurps, intrudes into, or unlawfully holds a local franchise the board or body has authority to grant or withhold.
Full Text of § 811
Plain-English Summary
Sections 803 and 809 give the Attorney General the lead role in usurpation actions generally. Section 811 adds a second, local avenue: the board of supervisors of a county or city and county, or the legislative body of a municipal corporation, may bring the same kind of action in the name of that county, city and county, or municipal corporation.
The reach of this local action is narrower than the Attorney General's. It's limited to franchises, or portions of franchises, within the local body's own territorial limits, and only to franchises of a kind that the local board or body has the authority to grant or withhold in the first place. Within those limits, the local government can act directly against a franchise usurper without waiting on the Attorney General to bring the action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a county or city bring its own usurpation action, or only the Attorney General?
Section 811 lets a county's board of supervisors or a municipal corporation's governing body bring its own action, in addition to the Attorney General's authority under § 803.
Is there a limit on what franchises a local government can sue over under this section?
Yes. The franchise must be within the local body's territorial limits and of a kind that body has authority to grant or withhold.
In whose name does the local government bring this action?
In the name of the county, city and county, or municipal corporation itself.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1937, Ch. 575.
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: local government franchise usurpation action californiacounty sue franchise usurper california