Unowned Property: Statute of Limitations for Small Claims Court

My question involves personal property located in the State of: California


I am co-owner on a piece of property that is in a gated community in the middle of the national forest. There is a Homeowners Association.

We have an ongoing event in our national forest that is killing all the pine trees. Over 100 trees died on our 1-acre lot. The HOA has required that all the dead trees be taken down.

My co-owner did not want to help pay to have the trees removed. This property is a triangle shape with a road on two sides. We have 5 neighbors, 5 cabin-like structures and 2 travel trailers that were close enough for the dead trees to fall on. I was forced to remove and bear the cost of the tree removal. I was concerned that a tree would fall on someone's cabin, or worse, fall on someone and kill them. This was a real threat. It cost me over $10,000.

I have not been able to collect any money from my co-owner towards the removal of these trees and would like to sue for reimbursement in small claims court.

My question is, what is the statute of limitations for my situation? Here is what I have found in my search for the answer but none of the below seem to apply to my situation.

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you.


Personal injury: Two years from the injury. If the injury was not discovered right away, then it is 1 year from the date the injury was discovered.
Breach of a written contract: Four years from the date the contract was broken.
Breach of an oral contract: Two years from the date the contract was broken.
Property damage: Three years from the date the damage occurred.

Unowned Property: Statute of Limitations for Small Claims Court