Newland v. County of Los Angeles

Newland v. County of Los Angeles (CA2/5 B277638 6/18/18) Respondeat Superior/vehicle Use Exception

An employee driving home from work on a day that he did not have any job duties outside of the office injured a third party.  After a jury trial, the trial court imposed liability on the employer based on evidence that the employee regularly used his personal vehicle for work on other days.  The employer contends there was no substantial evidence to support finding that the employee was driving in the course and scope of his employment at the time of the accident, because he was not required to use a personal vehicle that day.
          
We agree that an employee must be driving a personal vehicle in the course and scope of his employment at the time of the accident to extend vicarious liability to an employer.  Liability may be imposed on an employer for an employee’s tortious conduct while driving to or from work, if at the time of the accident, the employee’s use of a personal vehicle was required by the employer or otherwise provided a benefit to the employer.  The evidence showed that the employee in this case was driving a routine commute to and from work on the day of the accident.  He was not required to use his personal vehicle for work purposes that day, and his employer did not otherwise benefit from his use of a personal vehicle that day.  The employer is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.  We reverse the judgment with directions.

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