Ventura v. ABM Indus., Inc., 2012 WL 6636255 (Cal. Ct. App. 2012)
Sylvia Ventura worked as a janitor for ABM. Ventura alleged a history of harassment and an act of violence by her supervisor, Carlos Manzano, and ratification by ABM. The jury awarded Ventura $100,000 in compensatory damages for past mental suffering. The trial court entered judgment in Ventura’s favor in the amount of…
LeFiell Mfg. Co. v. Superior Court, 2012 WL 3570743 (Cal. S. Ct. 2012)
O’Neil Watrous and his wife Nidia filed a civil action against LeFiell Manufacturing for injuries O’Neil suffered while he was operating a swaging machine at work. The swaging machine is a “power press machine” within the meaning of Cal. Labor Code § 4558 – an injury from which provides an exception…
Ruiz v. Affinity Logistics Corp., 667 F.3d 1318 (9th Cir. 2012)
Fernando Ruiz and similarly situated drivers filed a class action against Affinity alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and California law for failure to pay overtime, failure to pay wages, improper charges for workers’ compensation insurance and unfair business practices. To work for Affinity, the drivers had to enter into an…
Gravelin v. Satterfield, 200 Cal. App. 4th 1209 (2011)
Gary Gravelin was injured while installing a satellite dish on the roof of a residence. Although Gravelin received workers’ compensation benefits from his employer, he sued the homeowners. The trial court granted summary judgment to the homeowners on the ground that in the absence of an exception to the doctrine enunciated in Privette v. Superior…
SeaBright Ins. Co. v. US Airways, Inc., 52 Cal. 4th 590 (2011)
US Airways uses a conveyor to move luggage at San Francisco International Airport. US Airways hired independent contractor Lloyd W. Aubry Co. to maintain and repair the conveyor and did not direct Aubry’s employees in their work. The conveyor lacked certain safety guards in violation of various Cal-OSHA regulations. After one of…
Hodge v. Aon Ins. Servs., 192 Cal. App. 4th 1361 (2011)
Plaintiffs in this case are claims adjusters employed by a third party administrator (Cambridge Integrated Services Group, Inc.). Depending on the entity with which it contracts and the terms of the contract, Cambridge adjusts general liability, vehicle-related and workers’ compensation claims. In their claim alleging violation of the Unfair Competition Law, plaintiffs alleged…
Angelotti v. The Walt Disney Co., 192 Cal. App. 4th 1394 (2011)
Anthony Angelotti was injured while rehearsing a stunt for a film that was being produced by Second Mate Productions, Inc. Angelotti sued Second Mate as well as The Walt Disney Company, which provided the financing for the film. Angelotti alleged that Disney had assumed a duty to ensure that the production complied…
Stiefel v. Bechtel Corp., 624 F.3d 1240 (2010)
James Richard Stiefel worked for Bechtel as an ironworker at a power plant. Five weeks before he was laid off, Stiefel injured his left hand while on the job. In his lawsuit, Stiefel alleged Bechtel laid him off as part of a “medical reduction in force,” which would result in cost savings to Bechtel under its…
Milan v. City of Holtville, 186 Cal. App. 4th 1028 (2010)
Tanya Milan, who worked as a water treatment operator for the City of Holtville, was injured on the job while moving a large piece of metal. After Milan applied for workers’ compensation benefits, a physician who had been retained on behalf of the city, examined her and concluded she would not be able to return to work at the water treatment plant. Shortly thereafter, the city notified Milan that because she would be unable to return to work, it had decided to offer her rehabilitation benefits, which she accepted before taking an online real estate course. Milan continued to receive a regular paycheck from the city until she was notified 18 months after the injury had occurred that the city was terminating her employment. Milan filed this lawsuit against the city, alleging it had violated the Fair Employment and Housing Act by failing to determine whether it could provide effective accommodations for her disability.
Lara v. WCAB, 182 Cal.App.4th 393 (2010)
The Metro Diner hired Luis Lara as a gardener twice during a 12-month period to prune the bushes around the diner. Lara fell off the roof of the diner while pruning the bushes and injured his head, back, neck and other parts of his body. After the fall, Lara filed a workers’ compensation claim against Metro and…
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