Cavanaugh v. State of California, 85 Cal. App. 3d 354 (1978)

Citation: Cavanaugh v. State of California, 85 Cal. App. 3d 354 (1978)
Parent Document: Cavanaugh v. State of California, 85 Cal. App. 3d 354 (1978)
Jurisdiction: California (state)
Effective Date: 1978-10-06
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2130433/cavanaugh-v-state-of-california/ ↗

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*358 Subdivision (a)(1) of that section states in part, "As a part of the cost of acquisition ... a public entity shall compensate a displaced person for his: [¶] (1) Actual and reasonable expense in moving himself, ..." A postacquisition tenant with knowledge is obviously not within the purview of the sections, as knowledge of the prior acquisition would inevitably affect the amount of rent bargained for, that is, in the marketplace the fair rental value will be discounted because of the lack of permanence and the probability that the tenant will incur further future moving costs. Our conclusion that section 7262 was intended to apply to postacquisition tenants without knowledge of the prior acquisition by the state is buttressed by and is consonant with legislative specification of other dislocation benefits limited to preacquisition tenants; it is compelled by examination of the entire system of law of which section 7262 is a part and by harmonizing each part with the others. (Select Base Materials v. Board of Equal. (1959) 51 Cal.2d 640 [335 P.2d 672]; Stafford v. L.A. etc. Retirement Board (1954) 42 Cal.2d 795 [270 P.2d 12].) Section 7264 provides for additional relocation payments to tenant renters of a dwelling in an amount not to exceed $4,000 and is intended to enable "displaced persons" to lease or rent suitable housing for up to four years. To be eligible for that additional benefit a "displaced person" must have been in occupancy 90 days prior to the initiation of negotiation by the public entity for acquisition of the property. Postacquisition tenants are expressly and specifically excluded from participation in those relocation benefits. In like fashion, section 7263 provides for additional payments to a displaced dwelling owner or occupant. In that instance the displaced dwelling owner is entitled to receive an amount not in excess of $15,000 provided the owner actually owned and occupied the premises for not less than 180 days prior to the initiation of negotiation for the acquisition of the property. Again, the Legislature specifically expressed its intent to exclude from participation in these relocation benefits any postacquisition owner or occupant. We conclude that had the Legislature intended these relocation benefits (§ 7262) to apply to preacquisition tenants only, it would have placed that limitation in the statute as it did in sections 7263 and 7264.

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