In a personal injury action, does the court have authority to define a mental state?

In People v. Untiedt (1974) 42 Cal.App.3d 550, 116 Cal.Rptr. 899, the court discussed sua sponte the sufficiency of the instructions defining a violation of section 597f. ⁶ (Id. at p. 554, 116 Cal.Rptr. 899.) The court concluded civil negligence was the appropriate mental state without any consideration of section 20. ⁷ (Id. at p. 555, 116 Cal.Rptr. 899.) The instructions under review here cite Untiedt as authority.