Miller v. International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, Inc.

[244]

HERNDON, Acting P. J.

Plaintiff, Benjamin Miller, and plaintiff in intervention, Enterprise Insurance Company, have appealed from the judgment of nonsuit entered in favor of defendant and respondent, International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, Inc. The action is one for general and special damages suffered by appellants as the result of a certain automobile accident involving Miller and one Gary Norman Black, a minister ordained by respondent. The jury’s verdict in favor of appellants and against Black is not questioned on this appeal.

At the close of appellants’ case in chief, respondent moved for a nonsuit on two grounds: (1) “There has been no evidence proving or tending to prove that Gary Norman Black at the time of this accident was the agent, servant, or employee of [respondent]and (2) “There has been no evidence proving or tending to prove that if he was such agent, servant, or employee, he was acting within the course and the scope of that [employment] at the time of the accident.”

The trial judge stated that he felt the evidence was sufficient to establish the agency relationship but held that it was insufficient to prove that Black was acting within the course and scope of his employment at the time of the accident.

“In determining whether the granting of the nonsuit was proper, the appellate court must resolve every conflict in the testimony in favor of plaintiffs, consider every inference which can reasonably be drawn and every presumption which can fairly be deemed to arise in support of plaintiffs and accept as true all evidence adduced, direct or indirect, which tends to sustain plaintiffs’ case.”

(Coates

v. Chinn, 51 Cal.2d 304, 306-307 [332 P.2d 289].)

The evidence bearing upon the determinative issues is essentially without conflict. It establishes that the respondent International Church was incorporated (1) to establish and conduct an organization to manage the affairs of the corporation and to “supervise the management of the Churches of the Foursquare Gospel”; (2) to license and ordain ministers and missionaries for the furtherance of the work of the corporation; and (3) to establish and grant charters to churches, known as Foursquare Churches, to be subject at all times to the supervision of respondent corporation.