SAN DIEGO (AP) — A research firm says California home foreclosure starts increased from January through March after plunging to an eight-year low in the previous quarter.

DataQuick said Tuesday that there were slightly more than 19,200 default notices filed in the first quarter, up 6 percent from the fourth quarter of 2013 and up 4 percent from the same period a year earlier. Figures for the first quarter of 2013 were driven lower by new state laws designed to protect homeowners from losing property.