Moreno v. Visser Ranch, Inc., 2018 WL 6696021 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018)
Ray David Moreno, a passenger riding in a truck that his father (Ernesto Moreno) was driving, was injured when the truck left the roadway, hit an embankment and rolled over. Ray sued his father, the corporation that employed his father and an affiliated corporation that owned the vehicle. The employer required Ernesto to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond immediately to cell phone calls for repairs and maintenance. The trial court granted summary adjudication in favor of the employer on the respondeat superior claim on the ground that Ernesto, who was returning home late in the evening after attending a family gathering, was not acting in the scope of his employment at the time of the accident. The Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the trier of fact could find that Ernesto’s use of the truck for personal travel after work was dictated by the employer’s requirements.