Miller v. King

Opinion

GILBERT, J.

An employee is injured on the job. Her employer is a corporation. The owners of the property on which the corporation does its business, and where the employee was injured, all owned stock in the corporation at the time of the injury. The injured employee receives workers’ compensation benefits from her corporate employer. May she also bring a legal action against the owners of the property? Yes.

[1734]

Under these circumstances we hold the injured employee of the corporation is not barred by Labor Code

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section 3602, subdivision (a) from maintaining a third party premises liability action against the property owners. We therefore reverse the judgment entered in favor of the property owners pursuant to their motion for summary judgment.

Facts

Loretta Miller slipped and fell at a restaurant where she was employed as a waitress. The restaurant was owned by a corporation from which she received workers’ compensation benefits. Miller also brought a third party premises liability action against John and Carol King and Doug Redican as owners of the property on which the restaurant operated. The property owners sought summary judgment on the ground that, because the restaurant and premises were owned by the same parties, workers’ compensation was Miller’s exclusive remedy.

At the time of the accident, Doug Redican was the director and president of the corporation and owned 72 percent of the stock. His wife, Susan claimed a community property interest in his shares. John King was a director and owned 0.5 percent of the stock. His wife, Carol, claimed a community interest in his shares. The Redicans owned a one-half interest in the real property and the Kings owned the other half.

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The trial court granted the motion, stating that to allow the lawsuit to proceed would violate the spirit if not the letter of section 3602, subdivision (a). Miller appeals the ensuing judgment.

Discussion