Sumrall v. Modern Alloys, Inc., 2017 WL 1365089 (Cal. Ct. App. 2017)
Juan Campos was employed as a cement/mason finisher for Modern Alloys, Inc. when he was involved in a collision that injured Michael Sumrall, who was riding a motorcycle. Before his shift, Campos was required to drive from his home to Modern Alloys’ “yard” where he would pick up coworkers and drive a company truck to the jobsite. In response to Sumrall’s complaint against Modern Alloys alleging respondeat superior liability for Campos’s negligence, Modern Alloys asserted that Campos was not acting with the scope of his employment under the “going and coming”‘ rule because he was on his way to the yard at the time of the collision. The trial court granted Modern Alloys’ motion for summary judgment, but the Court of Appeal reversed, holding that there is a triable issue of fact as to whether Campos was on a business errand for Modern Alloys’ benefit while commuting from his home to the yard – and a “business errand” is an exception to the “going and coming” rule.