Section 338.2 - Action for damages, etc. for artwork or personal property taken due to political persecution(a) A California resident, or an heir, trustee, assignee, or representative of the estate of a California resident, may bring an action for damages, other financial recovery, title, recovery, or ownership, of artwork or other personal property that was taken or otherwise lost as a result of political persecution.(b) Notwithstanding any other law, actions brought pursuant to this section shall be commenced within six years of the actual discovery by the claimant or the claimant's agent, of both of the following: (1) The identity and the whereabouts of the artwork or other personal property. Where there is a possibility of misidentification of the object in question, the identity can be satisfied by the identification of facts sufficient to determine that the artwork or other personal property is likely to be the artwork or other personal property that was unlawfully taken or stolen.(2) Information or facts that are sufficient to indicate that the claimant has a claim for a possessory interest in the artwork or other personal property that was unlawfully taken or stolen.(c) If a claimant had actual knowledge of the facts described in subdivision (b) prior to the enactment of this section, any action brought pursuant to this section shall be commenced within of six years of actual discovery or two years from the enactment of this section, whichever is later.(d) For purposes of this section the following definitions shall apply: (1) "Artwork or other personal property" means any of the following: (A) Pictures, paintings, and drawings.(B) Statuary art and sculpture.(C) Engravings, prints lithographs, and other works of graphic art.(D) Applied art and original artistic assemblages and montages.(E) Books, archives, musical instruments, musical objects, and manuscripts, including musical manuscripts and sheets, and sound, photographic, and cinematographic archives and mediums.(F) Sacred and ceremonial objects.(G) Objects of cultural significance.(2) "Political persecution" means persecution of a specific group of individuals based on their membership in a protected class under the state's Unruh Civil Rights Act (Section 51 of the Civil Code).(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or prior judicial decision, in any action brought pursuant to this section or in the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016 (HEAR) (Pub. L. No. 114-308), California substantive law shall apply.(f) In an action brought pursuant to this section, where an item specified in subdivision (d) is taken or lost as a result of political persecution, clear title is not conveyed to any subsequent purchaser or owner. Defenses that the defendant acquired the title in good faith, by acquisitive prescription, or by adverse possession, and the defense of laches do not apply to cases brought under this section.(g) An action may be brought by a claimant who, prior to the enactment of this section, brought a claim to recover personal property that was stolen or lost due to political persecution, and the case was dismissed by a court based on any of the defenses listed in subdivision (f), or based on any procedural basis such as standing, personal jurisdiction, or subject matter jurisdiction. Any such actions shall be commenced within two years of the effective date of this section or the entry of a final judgment and the termination of all appeals, including any petition for a writ of certiorari, whichever is later.(h) A prevailing plaintiff shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's costs and fees.Ca. Civ. Proc. Code § 338.2
Added by Stats 2024 ch 257 (AB 2867),s 3, eff. 9/16/2024.