Lima v. Industrial Accident Commission

PLUMMER, J.

This cause is before us upon the application of the above-named petitioner to review an award made by the Industrial Accident Commission in favor of the respondents John Enteran and Commercial Casualty Insurance Company, a corporation.

The record shows that the petitioner was engaged in the viticultural business in San Joaquin County; that he was engaged in such business during all the times mentioned herein; that on or about the fifth day of October, 1933, the petitioner being about to begin the harvest of grapes, wrote

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to Anthony M. Lanza, a real estate and insurance broker in San Francisco, requesting Lanza to procure from the Commercial Casualty Insurance Company an insurance policy pursuant to the provisions of the Workmen’s Compensation, Insurance and Safety Act of the state of California. This letter was received by Lanza on the seventh day of October, 1933; on the same day the petitioner called at the office of Lanza in San Francisco with reference to the procurement of a liability insurance policy, and according to the record was informed by Lanza that he would attend to the procurement thereof.

Work was begun by the petitioner in the gathering of grapes, and in pursuance thereof he employed the individual respondents herein. In so doing the petitioner furnished conveyance to the individual respondents in going from the residence of the petitioner to the place where the workmen were engaged in the gathering of grapes. It appears that some time" between 5 and 6 o’clock of the afternoon of October 10, 1933, while riding in an automobile furnished by the petitioner in conveying his employees to and from their work, the automobile was upset and the respondent John Luteran severely injured.

The record further shows that later in the evening of October 10, 1933, a six-minute communication by telephone was had between the residence and telephone number of the petitioner herein and' the telephone number of Anthony M. Lanza, in San Francisco. Likewise, the record shows a telephone communication was had between the telephone number of the petitioner and the telephone number of Lanza, on October 11, 1933, and likewise on October 13, 1933, the telephone call on October 13th being listed as a person to person call as from Lima to Lanza. These telephone calls were denied by both the petitioner and Lanza. '