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California Civil Code Section 1714.5

Legal Research Home > California Laws > Civil Code > California Civil Code Section 1714.5

1714.5.  (a) There shall be no liability on the part of one,
including the State of California, county, city and county, city or
any other political subdivision of the State of California, who owns
or maintains any building or premises which have been designated as a
shelter from destructive operations or attacks by enemies of the
United States by any disaster council or any public office, body, or
officer of this state or of the United States, or which have been
designated or are used as mass care centers, first aid stations,
temporary hospital annexes, or as other necessary facilities for
mitigating the effects of a natural, manmade, or war-caused
emergency, for any injuries arising out of the use thereof for such
purposes sustained by any person while in or upon said building or
premises as a result of the condition of said building or premises or
as a result of any act or omission, or in any way arising from the
designation of such premises as a shelter, or the designation or use
thereof as a mass care center, first aid station, temporary hospital
annex, or other necessary facility for emergency purposes, except a
willful act, of such owner or occupant or his or her servants, agents
or employees when such person has entered or gone upon or into said
building or premises for the purpose of seeking refuge, treatment,
care, or assistance therein during destructive operations or attacks
by enemies of the United States or during tests ordered by lawful
authority or during a natural or manmade emergency.
   (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no disaster
service worker who is performing disaster services during a state of
war emergency, a state of emergency, or a local emergency, as such
emergencies are defined in Section 8558 of the Government Code, shall
be liable for civil damages on account of personal injury to or
death of any person or damage to property resulting from any act or
omission while performing disaster services anywhere within any
jurisdiction covered by such emergency, except one that is willful.
   (c) For purposes of this subdivision, a disaster service worker
shall be performing disaster services when acting within the scope of
the disaster service worker's responsibilities under the authority
of the governmental emergency organization.
   (d) For purposes of this subdivision, "governmental emergency
organization" shall mean the emergency organization of any state,
city, city and county, county, district, or other local governmental
agency or public agency, which is authorized pursuant to the
California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section
8550) of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
   (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter any
existing legal duties or obligations. The amendments to this section
made by the act amending this section shall apply exclusively to any
legal action filed on or after the effective date of the act.

Last modified: February 22, 2013