In Jefferson v. County of Kern (2002) 98 Cal.App.4th 606, the plaintiff sued a county and a physician for fraud and malpractice. (Id. at p. 609.) The trial court denied the plaintiff's request for a jury trial regarding when his causes of actions accrued, and concluded the plaintiff had failed to comply with the claim presentation requirements of the California Tort Claims Act (Gov. Code, 810 et seq.). (Jefferson, at p. 609.) The Court of Appeal held the plaintiff's right to jury trial under the California Constitution had been violated. (Jefferson, at p. 610.) The court rejected the county's argument that, because there was no claim statute in existence in 1850, "'there is no inherent right to a jury trial against a public entity unless that right is found in a statute ... .'" (Id. at pp. 612-613.) The court reasoned: "The 'gist' of the issue about when a cause of action for damages accrued is legal, because it is determinative of the plaintiff's right to bring such a cause of action at law. The fact the issue arises in the context of the claims statutes rather than in the context of the statute of limitations, and the fact that the defendant is a public entity rather than a private person or entity, are not distinctions that make a difference. The nature of the inquiry and the purpose of the inquiry are the same ... ." (Id. at p. 614.)