SECTIONS 3333-3343.7 - California Statutes

CIVIL CODE

SECTION 3333-3343.7

3333. For the breach of an obligation not arising from contract,
the measure of damages, except where otherwise expressly provided by
this Code, is the amount which will compensate for all the detriment
proximately caused thereby, whether it could have been anticipated or
not.

3333.1. (a) In the event the defendant so elects, in an action for
personal injury against a health care provider based upon
professional negligence, he may introduce evidence of any amount
payable as a benefit to the plaintiff as a result of the personal
injury pursuant to the United States Social Security Act, any state
or federal income disability or worker's compensation act, any
health, sickness or income-disability insurance, accident insurance
that provides health benefits or income-disability coverage, and any
contract or agreement of any group, organization, partnership, or
corporation to provide, pay for, or reimburse the cost of medical,
hospital, dental, or other health care services. Where the defendant
elects to introduce such evidence, the plaintiff may introduce
evidence of any amount which the plaintiff has paid or contributed to
secure his right to any insurance benefits concerning which the
defendant has introduced evidence.
(b) No source of collateral benefits introduced pursuant to
subdivision (a) shall recover any amount against the plaintiff nor
shall it be subrogated to the rights of the plaintiff against a
defendant.
(c) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Health care provider" means any person licensed or certified
pursuant to Division 2 (commencing with Section 500) of the Business
and Professions Code, or licensed pursuant to the Osteopathic
Initiative Act, or the Chiropractic Initiative Act, or licensed
pursuant to Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 1440) of Division 2
of the Health and Safety Code; and any clinic, health dispensary, or
health facility, licensed pursuant to Division 2 (commencing with
Section 1200) of the Health and Safety Code. "Health care provider"
includes the legal representatives of a health care provider;
(2) "Professional negligence" means a negligent act or omission to
act by a health care provider in the rendering of professional
services, which act or omission is the proximate cause of a personal
injury or wrongful death, provided that such services are within the
scope of services for which the provider is licensed and which are
not within any restriction imposed by the licensing agency or
licensed hospital.

3333.2. (a) In any action for injury against a health care provider
based on professional negligence, the injured plaintiff shall be
entitled to recover noneconomic losses to compensate for pain,
suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, disfigurement and
other nonpecuniary damage.
(b) In no action shall the amount of damages for noneconomic
losses exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000).
(c) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Health care provider" means any person licensed or certified
pursuant to Division 2 (commencing with Section 500) of the Business
and Professions Code, or licensed pursuant to the Osteopathic
Initiative Act, or the Chiropractic Initiative Act, or licensed
pursuant to Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 1440) of Division 2
of the Health and Safety Code; and any clinic, health dispensary, or
health facility, licensed pursuant to Division 2 (commencing with
Section 1200) of the Health and Safety Code. "Health care provider"
includes the legal representatives of a health care provider;
(2) "Professional negligence" means a negligent act or omission to
act by a health care provider in the rendering of professional
services, which act or omission is the proximate cause of a personal
injury or wrongful death, provided that such services are within the
scope of services for which the provider is licensed and which are
not within any restriction imposed by the licensing agency or
licensed hospital.

3333.3. In any action for damages based on negligence, a person may
not recover any damages if the plaintiff's injuries were in any way
proximately caused by the plaintiff's commission of any felony, or
immediate flight therefrom, and the plaintiff has been duly convicted
of that felony.

3333.4. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), in any action to
recover damages arising out of the operation or use of a motor
vehicle, a person shall not recover non-economic losses to compensate
for pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment,
disfigurement, and other nonpecuniary damages if any of the following
applies:
(1) The injured person was at the time of the accident operating
the vehicle in violation of Section 23152 or 23153 of the Vehicle
Code, and was convicted of that offense.
(2) The injured person was the owner of a vehicle involved in the
accident and the vehicle was not insured as required by the financial
responsibility laws of this state.
(3) The injured person was the operator of a vehicle involved in
the accident and the operator can not establish his or her financial
responsibility as required by the financial responsibility laws of
this state.
(b) Except as provided in subdivision (c), an insurer shall not be
liable, directly or indirectly, under a policy of liability or
uninsured motorist insurance to indemnify for non-economic losses of
a person injured as described in subdivision (a).
(c) In the event a person described in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) was injured by a motorist who at the time of the
accident was operating his or her vehicle in violation of Section
23152 or 23153 of the Vehicle Code, and was convicted of that
offense, the injured person shall not be barred from recovering
non-economic losses to compensate for pain, suffering, inconvenience,
physical impairment, disfigurement, and other nonpecuniary damages.

3333.5. (a) Each pipeline corporation that qualifies as a public
utility within Section 216 of the Public Utilities Code that
transports any crude oil or fraction thereof in a public utility oil
pipeline system that meets the requirements of subdivision (h) shall
be absolutely liable without regard to fault for any damages incurred
by any injured party that arise out of, or are caused by, the
discharge or leaking of crude oil or fraction thereof from the public
utility pipeline.
(b) A pipeline corporation is not liable to an injured party under
this section for any of the following:
(1) Damages, other than costs of removal incurred by the state or
a local government caused solely by an act of war, hostilities, civil
war, or insurrection or by an unanticipated grave natural disaster
or other act of God of an exceptional, inevitable, and irresistible
character, other than an earthquake, which damages could not have
been prevented or avoided by the exercise of due care or foresight.
(2) Damages in the proportion caused by the negligence,
intentional malfeasance, or criminal act of the landowner, or an
agent, employee, or contractor of the landowner, upon whose property
the pipeline system is located.
(3) Except as provided by paragraph (2), damages caused solely by
the negligence or intentional malfeasance of the injured person.
(4) Except as provided by paragraph (2), damages caused solely by
the criminal act of a third party other than the pipeline corporation
or an agent or employee of the pipeline corporation.
(5) Natural seepage from sources other than the public utility oil
pipeline.
(6) Damages that arise out of, or are caused by, a discharge that
is authorized by a state or federal permit.
(c) Damages for which a pipeline corporation is liable under this
section are the following:
(1) All costs of response, containment, cleanup, removal, and
treatment, including, but not limited to, monitoring and
administration costs.
(2) Injury to, or economic losses resulting from destruction of or
injury to, real or personal property.
(3) Injury to, destruction of, or loss of, natural resources,
including, but not limited to, the reasonable cost of rehabilitating
wildlife, habitat, and other resources and the reasonable cost of
assessing that injury, destruction, or loss, in any action brought by
the state, a county, city, or district.
(4) Loss of taxes, royalties, rents, use, or profit shares caused
by the injury, destruction, loss, or impairment of use of real
property, personal property, or natural resources.
(5) Loss of use and enjoyment of natural resources and other
public resources or facilities in any action brought by the state,
county, city, or district.
(d) The court may award reasonable costs of the suit, attorneys'
fees, and the cost of any necessary expert witnesses to any
prevailing plaintiff. The court may award reasonable costs of the
suit, attorneys' fees, and the cost of any necessary expert witnesses
to any prevailing defendant if the court finds that the plaintiff
commenced or prosecuted the suit under this section in bad faith or
solely for purposes of harassing the defendant.
(e) (1) A pipeline corporation shall immediately clean up all
crude oil, or any fraction thereof, that leaks or is discharged from
a pipeline subject to this section. Additionally, the pipeline
corporation shall abate immediately, or as soon as practical, the
effects of the leak or discharge and take all other necessary
remedial action.
(2) A pipeline corporation may recover the costs of the activities
specified in this section for which it is not at fault by means of
any otherwise available cause of action, including, but not limited
to, indemnification or subrogation.
(f) This section shall not apply to claims, or causes of action,
for damages for personal injury or wrongful death.
(g) This section shall not prohibit any party from bringing any
action for damages under any other provision or principle of law,
including but not limited to, common law. However, damages shall not
be awarded pursuant to this section to an injured party to the extent
the same party is or has been awarded damages for the same injury
under any other provision or principle of law.
(h) This section shall only apply to all of the following:
(1) The pipeline system proposed to be constructed by Pacific
Pipeline System, Inc., identified in Public Utilities Commission
Application No. 91-10-013, for which the maximum requirement of one
hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) set forth in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (j) shall apply.
(2) Any other public utility pipeline system for which
construction is completed on or after January 1, 1996, other than a
pipeline system the entire length of which is subject to the
Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act,
(Division 7.8 (commencing with Section 8750) of the Public Resources
Code). If part, but not all, of a pipeline system is subject to the
Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act, any
evidence of financial responsibility that satisfies that act, and
that meets the conditions of this section, shall be credited toward
the requirements of this section.
(3) Any major relocation of three miles or greater of a portion of
a pipeline system along substantially new alignments accomplished
through the exercise of eminent domain. This section shall not apply
to the portions of the pipeline not relocated.
(i) This section shall not apply to the following:
(1) A pipeline system in existence prior to January 1, 1996, that
is converted to a public utility prior or subsequent to January 1,
1996.
(2) A public utility pipeline system not otherwise subject to this
section, that is the object of repair, replacement or maintenance,
unless that activity constitutes relocation as described in paragraph
(3) of subdivision (h).
(j) (1) No pipeline system subject to this section shall be
permitted to operate unless the State Fire Marshal certifies that the
pipeline corporation demonstrates sufficient financial
responsibility to respond to the liability imposed by this section.
The minimum financial responsibility required by the State Fire
Marshal shall be seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) times the maximum
capacity of the pipeline in the number of barrels per day up to a
maximum of one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) per pipeline
system, or a maximum of two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000)
per multiple pipeline systems.
(2) For the purposes of this section, financial responsibility
shall be demonstrated by evidence that is substantially equivalent to
that required by regulations issued under Section 8670.37.54 of the
Government Code, including insurance, surety bond, letter of credit,
guaranty, qualification as a self-insurer, or combination thereof or
any other evidence of financial responsibility. The State Fire
Marshal shall require the documentation evidencing financial
responsibility to be placed on file with that office, and shall
administer the documentation in a manner substantially equivalent to
that provided by regulations issued under Section 8670.37.54 of the
Government Code. Financial responsibility shall be available for
payment of claims for damages described in subdivision (c) of any
party, including, but not limited to, the State of California, local
governments, special districts, and private parties, that obtains a
final judgment therefor against the pipeline corporation.
(k) The State Fire Marshal shall require evidence of financial
responsibility to fund postclosure cleanup costs. The evidence of
financial responsibility shall be 15 percent of the amount of
financial responsibility required under subdivision (j) and shall be
maintained by the pipeline corporation for four years from the date
the pipeline is fully idled pursuant to a closure plan approved by
the State Fire Marshal.
(l) "Fraction" of crude oil means a group of compounds collected
by fractional distillation that condenses within the same temperature
band, or a material that consists primarily of that group of
compounds or of a mixture of those groups of compounds.
(m) (1) Notwithstanding Section 228 of the Public Utilities Code,
for purposes of this section, "pipeline corporation" means every
corporation or person directly operating, managing or owning any
pipeline system that qualifies as a public utility within Section 216
of the Public Utilities Code and for compensation within this state.
(2) For purposes of this section, "owning" refers to the legal
entity owning the pipeline system itself and does not include legal
entities having an ownership interest, in whole or in part, in the
entity owning the pipeline system or multiple pipeline systems.
(3) "Pipeline system" means a collective assemblage of intrastate
line pipe, valves, and other appurtenances connected to line pipe,
pumping units, fabricated assemblies associated with pumping units,
metering and delivery station, and fabricated assemblies constructed
for the same purpose at substantially the same time that form a
facility through which crude oil or a fraction thereof moves in
transportation.

3333.7. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person
who suffers injury that is proximately caused by the driver of a
commercial motor vehicle shall be entitled to recover treble damages
from the driver's employer where it is shown both that the driver of
a commercial motor vehicle was under the influence of alcohol or a
controlled substance at the time that the injury was caused and that
the driver's employer willfully failed at the time of the injury to
comply with any of the requirements of federal law described in
subdivision (a) of Section 34520 of the Vehicle Code in regard to the
involved driver.
(b) For the purposes of subdivision (a), "willfully failed" has
the same meaning as "willful failure" as defined in paragraph (3) of
subdivision (c) of Section 34623 of the Vehicle Code.
(c) For purposes of subdivision (a), an "employer" is a person or
entity who employs the driver or who contracts with an
owner-operator, who meets the requirements set forth in subdivision
(b) of Section 34624 of the Vehicle Code, to provide transportation
services, and who is required to engage in mandatory substance abuse
testing pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 34520 of the Vehicle
Code. This subdivision shall not be construed to change the
definition of "employer," "employee," or "independent contractor" for
any purpose.
(d) Nothing in this section is intended to preclude or affect
existing rights.

3334. (a) The detriment caused by the wrongful occupation of real
property, in cases not embraced in Section 3335 of this code, the
Eminent Domain Law (Title 7 (commencing with Section 1230.010) of
Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure), or Section 1174 of the Code
of Civil Procedure, is deemed to include the value of the use of the
property for the time of that wrongful occupation, not exceeding five
years next preceding the commencement of the action or proceeding to
enforce the right to damages, the reasonable cost of repair or
restoration of the property to its original condition, and the costs,
if any, of recovering the possession.
(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), for purposes of
subdivision (a), the value of the use of the property shall be the
greater of the reasonable rental value of that property or the
benefits obtained by the person wrongfully occupying the property by
reason of that wrongful occupation.
(2) If a wrongful occupation of real property subject to this
section is the result of a mistake of fact of the wrongful occupier,
the value of the use of the property, for purposes of subdivision
(a), shall be the reasonable rental value of the property.

3335. For willfully holding over real property, by a person who
entered upon the same, as guardian or trustee for an infant, or by
right of an estate terminable with any life or lives, after the
termination of the trust or particular estate, without the consent of
the party immediately entitled after such termination, the measure
of damages is the value of the profits received during such holding
over.

3336. The detriment caused by the wrongful conversion of personal
property is presumed to be:
First--The value of the property at the time of the conversion,
with the interest from that time, or, an amount sufficient to
indemnify the party injured for the loss which is the natural,
reasonable and proximate result of the wrongful act complained of and
which a proper degree of prudence on his part would not have
averted; and
Second--A fair compensation for the time and money properly
expended in pursuit of the property.

3337. The presumption declared by the last section cannot be
repelled, in favor of one whose possession was wrongful from the
beginning, by his subsequent application of the property to the
benefit of the owner, without his consent.

3338. One having a mere lien on personal property, cannot recover
greater damages for its conversion, from one having a right thereto
superior to his, after his lien is discharged, than the amount
secured by the lien, and the compensation allowed by Section 3336 for
loss of time and expenses.

3339. The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) All protections, rights, and remedies available under state
law, except any reinstatement remedy prohibited by federal law, are
available to all individuals regardless of immigration status who
have applied for employment, or who are or who have been employed, in
this state.
(b) For purposes of enforcing state labor, employment, civil
rights, and employee housing laws, a person's immigration status is
irrelevant to the issue of liability, and in proceedings or discovery
undertaken to enforce those state laws no inquiry shall be permitted
into a person's immigration status except where the person seeking
to make this inquiry has shown by clear and convincing evidence that
this inquiry is necessary in order to comply with federal immigration
law.
(c) The provisions of this section are declaratory of existing
law.
(d) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision
of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity
shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given
effect without the invalid provision or application.

3340. For wrongful injuries to animals being subjects of property,
committed willfully or by gross negligence, in disregard of humanity,
exemplary damages may be given.

3341. The owner, possessor, or harborer of any dog or other animal,
that shall, on the premises of any person other than the owner,
possessor, or harborer of such dog or other animal, kill, worry, or
wound any bovine animal, swine, horse, mule, burro, sheep, angora
goat, or cashmere goat, or poultry, shall be liable to the owner of
the same for the damages and costs of suit, to be recovered in any
court of competent jurisdiction:
1. In the prosecution of actions under the provisions of this
chapter, it shall not be necessary for the plaintiff to show that the
owner, possessor, or harborer of such dog or other animal, had
knowledge of the fact that such dog or other animal would kill, wound
or worry bovine animals, swine, horses, mules, burros, sheep, goats,
or poultry.
2. Any person on finding any dog or dogs, or other animal, not on
the premises of the owner or possessor of such dog or dogs, or other
animal, worrying, wounding, or killing any bovine animals, swine,
horses, mules, burros, sheep, angora or cashmere goats, may, at the
time of finding such dog or dogs, or other animal, kill the same, and
the owner or owners thereof shall sustain no action for damages
against any person so killing such dog or dogs, or other animal.
Nothing in this section shall render an owner, possessor, or
harborer of a dog liable for the accidental or unavoidable killing or
injury of any bovine animal, swine, horse, mule, burro, sheep,
angora goat, cashmere goat, or poultry which occurs in connection
with or as a incident to the driving or herding the same from the
premises of the owner, possessor, or harborer of the dog, whether
such killing or injury occurs upon such premises or off of such
premises.

3342. (a) The owner of any dog is liable for the damages suffered
by any person who is bitten by the dog while in a public place or
lawfully in a private place, including the property of the owner of
the dog, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner'
s knowledge of such viciousness. A person is lawfully upon the
private property of such owner within the meaning of this section
when he is on such property in the performance of any duty imposed
upon him by the laws of this state or by the laws or postal
regulations of the United States, or when he is on such property upon
the invitation, express or implied, of the owner.
(b) Nothing in this section shall authorize the bringing of an
action pursuant to subdivision (a) against any governmental agency
using a dog in military or police work if the bite or bites occurred
while the dog was defending itself from an annoying, harassing, or
provoking act, or assisting an employee of the agency in any of the
following:
(1) In the apprehension or holding of a suspect where the employee
has a reasonable suspicion of the suspect's involvement in criminal
activity.
(2) In the investigation of a crime or possible crime.
(3) In the execution of a warrant.
(4) In the defense of a peace officer or another person.
(c) Subdivision (b) shall not apply in any case where the victim
of the bite or bites was not a party to, nor a participant in, nor
suspected to be a party to or a participant in, the act or acts that
prompted the use of the dog in the military or police work.
(d) Subdivision (b) shall apply only where a governmental agency
using a dog in military or police work has adopted a written policy
on the necessary and appropriate use of a dog for the police or
military work enumerated in subdivision (b).

3342.5. (a) The owner of any dog that has bitten a human being
shall have the duty to take such reasonable steps as are necessary to
remove any danger presented to other persons from bites by the
animal.
(b) Whenever a dog has bitten a human being on at least two
separate occasions, any person, the district attorney, or city
attorney may bring an action against the owner of the animal to
determine whether conditions of the treatment or confinement of the
dog or other circumstances existing at the time of the bites have
been changed so as to remove the danger to other persons presented by
the animal. This action shall be brought in the county where a bite
occurred. The court, after hearing, may make any order it deems
appropriate to prevent the recurrence of such an incident, including,
but not limited to, the removal of the animal from the area or its
destruction if necessary.
(c) Whenever a dog trained to fight, attack, or kill has bitten a
human being, causing substantial physical injury, any person,
including the district attorney, or city attorney may bring an action
against the owner of the animal to determine whether conditions of
the treatment or confinement of the dog or other circumstances
existing at the time of the bites have been changed so as to remove
the danger to other persons presented by the animal. This action
shall be brought in the county where a bite occurred. The court,
after hearing, may make any order it deems appropriate to prevent the
recurrence of such an incident, including, but not limited to, the
removal of the animal from the area or its destruction if necessary.
(d) Nothing in this section shall authorize the bringing of an
action pursuant to subdivision (b) based on a bite or bites inflicted
upon a trespasser, or by a dog used in military or police work if
the bite or bites occurred while the dog was actually performing in
that capacity.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent
legislation in the field of dog control by any city, county, or city
and county.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the
liability of the owner of a dog under Section 3342 or any other
provision of the law.
(g) A proceeding under this section is a limited civil case.

3343. (a) One defrauded in the purchase, sale or exchange of
property is entitled to recover the difference between the actual
value of that with which the defrauded person parted and the actual
value of that which he received, together with any additional damage
arising from the particular transaction, including any of the
following:
(1) Amounts actually and reasonably expended in reliance upon the
fraud.
(2) An amount which would compensate the defrauded party for loss
of use and enjoyment of the property to the extent that any such loss
was proximately caused by the fraud.
(3) Where the defrauded party has been induced by reason of the
fraud to sell or otherwise part with the property in question, an
amount which will compensate him for profits or other gains which
might reasonably have been earned by use of the property had he
retained it.
(4) Where the defrauded party has been induced by reason of the
fraud to purchase or otherwise acquire the property in question, an
amount which will compensate him for any loss of profits or other
gains which were reasonably anticipated and would have been earned by
him from the use or sale of the property had it possessed the
characteristics fraudulently attributed to it by the party committing
the fraud, provided that lost profits from the use or sale of the
property shall be recoverable only if and only to the extent that all
of the following apply:
(i) The defrauded party acquired the property for the purpose of
using or reselling it for a profit.
(ii) The defrauded party reasonably relied on the fraud in
entering into the transaction and in anticipating profits from the
subsequent use or sale of the property.
(iii) Any loss of profits for which damages are sought under this
paragraph have been proximately caused by the fraud and the defrauded
party's reliance on it.
(b) Nothing in this section shall do either of the following:
(1) Permit the defrauded person to recover any amount measured by
the difference between the value of property as represented and the
actual value thereof.
(2) Deny to any person having a cause of action for fraud or
deceit any legal or equitable remedies to which such person may be
entitled.

3343.5. (a) Any one or more of the following who suffers any damage
proximately resulting from one or more acts of unlawful motor
vehicle subleasing, as described in Chapter 12.7 (commencing with
Section 570) of Title 13 of Part 1 of the Penal Code, may bring an
action against the person who has engaged in those acts:
(1) A seller or other secured party under a conditional sale
contract or a security agreement.
(2) A lender under a direct loan agreement.
(3) A lessor under a lease contract.
(4) A buyer under a conditional sale contract.
(5) A purchaser under a direct loan agreement, an agreement which
provides for a security interest, or an agreement which is equivalent
to these types of agreements.
(6) A lessee under a lease contract.
(7) An actual or purported transferee or assignee of any right or
interest of a buyer, a purchaser, or a lessee.
(b) The court in an action under subdivision (a) may award actual
damages; equitable relief, including, but not limited to, an
injunction and restitution of money and property; punitive damages;
reasonable attorney's fees and costs; and any other relief which the
court deems proper.
(c) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Buyer" has the meaning set forth in subdivision (c) of
Section 2981.
(2) "Conditional sale contract" has the meaning set forth in
subdivision (a) of Section 2981. Notwithstanding subdivision (k) of
Section 2981, "conditional sale contract" includes any contract for
the sale or bailment of a motor vehicle between a buyer and a seller
primarily for business or commercial purposes.
(3) "Direct loan agreement" means an agreement between a lender
and a purchaser whereby the lender has advanced funds pursuant to a
loan secured by the motor vehicle which the purchaser has purchased.
(4) "Lease contract" means a lease contract between a lessor and
lessee as this term and these parties are defined in Section 2985.7.
Notwithstanding subdivision (d) of Section 2985.7, "lease contract"
includes a lease for business or commercial purposes.
(5) "Motor vehicle" means any vehicle required to be registered
under the Vehicle Code.
(6) "Person" means an individual, company, firm, association,
partnership, trust, corporation, limited liability company, or other
legal entity.
(7) "Purchaser" has the meaning set forth in paragraph (30) of
subdivision (b) of Section 1201 of the Commercial Code.
(8) "Security agreement" and "secured party" have the meanings set
forth, respectively, in paragraphs (73) and (72) of subdivision (a)
of Section 9102 of the Commercial Code. "Security interest" has the
meaning set forth in paragraph (35) of subdivision (b) of Section
1201 of the Commercial Code.
(9) "Seller" has the meaning set forth in subdivision (b) of
Section 2981, and includes the present holder of the conditional sale
contract.
(d) The rights and remedies provided in this section are in
addition to any other rights and remedies provided by law.

3343.7. An action may be brought against any nonprofit organization
operated on a cooperative basis by and for independent retailers
which wholesales goods and services primarily to its member retailers
as described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 20001 of
the Business and Professions Code or subdivision (c) of Section
31005 of the Corporations Code, for rescission of a membership
contract entered into, or for any damages sustained, as a consequence
of being fraudulently induced to join the organization. For purposes
of this section, "fraudulently induced" means the misrepresentation
of a material fact, or the omission of a material fact, including the
failure of the organization to disclose all information required
under subparagraph (H) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section
20001 of the Business and Professions Code or paragraph (8) of
subdivision (c) of Section 31005 of the Corporations Code, unless the
defendant proves that the plaintiff knew the facts concerning the
untruth or omission or that the defendant exercised reasonable care
and did not know (or if the defendant had exercised reasonable care
would not have known) of the untruth or omission.