California Codes

Cal. Evidence Code § 669 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026

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(a)The failure of a person to exercise due care is presumed if:

(1)He violated a statute, ordinance, or regulation of a public entity;

(2)The violation proximately caused death or injury to person or property;

(3)The death or injury resulted from an occurrence of the nature which the statute, ordinance, or regulation was designed to prevent; and

(4)The person suffering the death or the injury to his person or property was one of the class of persons for whose protection the statute, ordinance, or regulation was adopted.

(b)This presumption may be rebutted by proof that:

(1)The person violating the statute, ordinance, or regulation did what might reasonably be expected of a person of ordinary prudence, acting under similar circumstances, who desired to comply with the law; or

(2)The person violating the statute, ordinance, or regulation was a child and exercised the degree of care ordinarily exercised by persons of his maturity, intelligence, and capacity under similar circumstances, but the presumption may not be rebutted by such proof if the violation occurred in the course of an activity normally engaged in only by adults and requiring adult qualifications.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 217 cases (45 in the last 5 years), 1968–2026 · leading case: SeaBright Ins. v. US Airways, Inc., 258 P.3d 737 (Cal. 2011).

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SeaBright Ins. v. US Airways, Inc., 258 P.3d 737 (Cal. 2011). · cites it 6× “Evidence Code section 669, which codifies the common law doctrine of negligence per se ( Elsner, at p.”

Distefano v. Forester, 2001 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 127 (Cal. Ct. App. 2001). · cites it 5× “(Evid. Code, § 669.) Accordingly, the statute does not impose a duty of care on defendant that is otherwise precluded under the principles set forth in Knight, supra, ante, at page 296.”

Norman v. Life Care Centers of Am., Inc., 2003 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 3234 (Cal. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 8× “Clearly, the regulations were designed to protect residents of residential care facilities for the elderly from, among other things, harm such as decedent experienced.”

Hoff v. Vacaville Unified Sch. Dist., 968 P.2d 522 (Cal. 1998). · cites it 6× “was designed to prevent" (Evid.Code, § 669, subd. (a)(3)) and he is not "one of the class of persons for whose protection the statute .”

Ford v. Gouin, 834 P.2d 724 (Cal. 1992). · cites it 6× “" (Evid. Code, § 669, subd. (a)(4).) The question thus raised is whether section 658, subdivision *349 (d), was adopted only for the protection of third persons with whom a water-skier might collide or whose property might be damaged by a collision with water skis, an aquaplane,…”

Elsner v. Uveges, 102 P.3d 915 (Cal. 2004). · cites it 3× “) Evidence Code section 669 allows proof of a statutory violation to create a presumption of negligence in specified circumstances.”

Randi W. v. Muroc Jt. Unified Sch. Dist., 929 P.2d 582 (Cal. 1997). · cites it 6× “Evidence Code section 669 creates a presumption of negligence arising from violation of a statute, but only if "[t]he person suffering the .”

Sagadin v. Ripper, 175 Cal. App. 3d 1141 (Cal. Ct. App. 1985). · cites it 7× “) Evidence Code section 669, subdivision (a) provides: "The failure of a person to exercise due care is presumed if: (1) He violated a statute, ordinance, or regulation of a public entity; (2) The violation proximately caused death or injury to person or property; (3) The death…”

Grancare v. Ruth Thrower, 889 F.3d 543 (9th Cir. 2018). “” Cal. Evid. Code § 669 (a). The complaint alleges that Rhodes violated a series of regulations applicable to nursing home administrators, including Cal.”

Christensen v. Superior Court, 820 P.2d 181 (Cal. 1991). · cites it 3× “" [23] Evidence Code section 669: "(a) The failure of a person to exercise due care is presumed if: "(1) He violated a statute, ordinance, or regulation of a public entity; "(2) The violation proximately caused death or injury to person or property; "(3) The death or injury…”

Peterson v. City of Long Beach, 594 P.2d 477 (Cal. 1979). · cites it 6× “" (Evid. Code, § 669, subd. (b)(1).) I. The Police Department Manual.”

Steinle v. City & Cnty. of San Francisco, 230 F. Supp. 3d 994 (N.D. Cal. 2017). · cites it 4× “2(a) and 820(a), “Public Entity Negligence—Wrongful Death,” citing California Evidence Code section 669, “Negligence—Survivor Cause of Action,” citing no specific statutory provision, and “Deprivation of Federal Civil Rights,” citing “48 [sic] U.”

Show all 217 citing cases →

— Cal. Evidence Code § 669(a) — 10 cases

Ronald Roy Henderson v. United States, 784 F.2d 942 (9th Cir. 1986).

Fed. Sav. & Loan Ins. Corp. v. Musacchio, 695 F. Supp. 1053 (N.D. Cal. 1988).

Spencer v. DHI Mortg. Co., Ltd., 642 F. Supp. 2d 1153 (E.D. Cal. 2009).

Garcia Ex Rel. Marin v. Clovis Unified Sch. Dist., 627 F. Supp. 2d 1187 (E.D. Cal. 2009).

Delta Sav. Bank v. United States, 265 F.3d 1017 (9th Cir. 2001).

— Cal. Evidence Code § 669(a)(1) — 3 cases

Michelle Gilstrap v. United Air Lines, Inc., 709 F.3d 995 (9th Cir. 2013).

Schaeffer v. Gregory Vill. Partners, L.P., 105 F. Supp. 3d 951 (N.D. Cal. 2015).

Maddox v. City of Los Angeles, 792 F.2d 1408 (9th Cir. 1986).

— Cal. Evidence Code § 669(a)(3) — 1 case

Schaeffer v. Gregory Vill. Partners, L.P., 105 F. Supp. 3d 951 (N.D. Cal. 2015).

— Cal. Evidence Code § 669(a)(4) — 1 case

Distefano v. Forester, 2001 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 127 (Cal. Ct. App. 2001). “(Evid. Code, § 669.) Accordingly, the statute does not impose a duty of care on defendant that is otherwise precluded under the principles set forth in Knight, supra, ante, at page 296.”

— Cal. Evidence Code § 669(b) — 2 cases

Ronald Roy Henderson v. United States, 784 F.2d 942 (9th Cir. 1986).

Sanchez v. United States, 803 F. Supp. 2d 1066 (C.D. Cal. 2011).

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